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TAR  IF 

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HENRY   D,   TICHENOR 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/colgeorgectichenOOtichrich 


GEORGE  C.  TICHENOR 


^  & 


INTRODUCTORY. 

Having  been  requested  by  many  friends  of  my  father,  the 
late  Colonel  George  C.  Tichenor,  to  publish  his  correspond- 
ence and  views  upon  the  tariff — a  subject  to  which  he  had 
devoted  the  best  efforts  of  his  life — I  have  decided  to  make 
public  such  of  his  correspondence  with  Vice-President  Garret 
A.  Hobart,  Senator  William  B.  Allison,  Congressmen  Samuel 
J.  Randall  and  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr.,  as  I  think  may  prove 
of  interest  at  this  time.  To  this  I  have  added  extracts  from 
his  numerous  reports  on  the  tariff  and  customs  laws  and  a 
sketch  of  his  work  in  framing  the  Randall,  Allison,  Mc- 
Kinley,  and  Dingley  tariff  bills,  in  order  to  present  a  con- 
nected view  of  our  later  tariff  legislation. 

Henry  D.  Tichenor.       ^ 


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UNIVERSITY 

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AS  this  is  designed  only  to  present  a  resume  of  Colonel 
Tichenor's  views  and  recommendations  upon  the 
tariff  and  customs  laws  and  of  his  work  in  framing 
such  laws,  a  very  brief  outline  will  be  given  of  his  earlier 
career  previous  to  his  entering  the  civil  service  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

His  ancestors  were  French  Huguenots  from  Alsace,  who 
migrated  to  this  country  in  1642 — first  to  New  Haven,  Con- 
necticut, whence  they  later  removed,  with  Governor  Treat 
and  others,  to  Newark,  New  Jersey.  Here  they  became  large 
land  owners  and  influential  in  business  and  political  affairs 
in  the  new  colony.  His  great-grandfather,  Daniel  Tichenor, 
was  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  brother  to  Honor- 
able Isaac  Tichenor,  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  as  A.  B. 
in  1775,  and  who  received  the  degree  of  A.  M.  and  LL.  D. 
from  Dartmouth  in  1779,  and  later  served  as  Governor  and 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Vermont  and  as  United  States 
Senator. 

George  Carter  Tichenor  was  born  at  Shelbyville,  October 
8,  1838'.  He  received  his  early  education  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, and  Terre  Haute,  Indiana.  He  moved  to  Des  Moines, 
Iowa,  in  1858,  and  was  soon  made  clerk  of  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court  there.  In  1862  he  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier 
in  the  39th  Iowa  Volunteers,  and  was  made  first  lieutenant 
and  adjutant  by  Governor  Kirkwood,  July  31,  1863,  and 
soon  after  became  aide-de-camp,  with  rank  of  major,  on  the 
staff  of  General  Grenville  M.  Dodge,  with  whom  he  served 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  war,  being  promoted  suc- 
cessively to  lieutenant  colonel  and  colonel  "for  gallant  and 
meritorious  service." 

Upon  resigning  from  the  army  in  1866,  he  returned  to 
Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  for  a  while  engaged  in  the  lumber 

(3) 


219185 


business.  He  served  as  postmaster  of  Des  Moines  for  two 
terms,  1867-1874.  As  chairman  of  the  Republican  State 
Committee  of  Iowa,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  de- 
feat of  United  States  Senator  Harlan  and  in  electing  William 
i5.  Allison  as  his  successor. 

In  1874  he  moved  to  Chicago,  Illinois,  where  he  became 
prominent  in  the  grain  business.  Losing  almost  his  entire 
fortune  in  the  panic  of  1877,  he  was  appointed  by  his  friend, 
Honorable  John  Sherman,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to 
the  position  of  a  special  agent  of  that  Department,  represent- 
ing the  Secretary  in  many  semi-confidential  matters. 

Believing  that  the  tariff  was  the  most  important  national 
and  international  question  affecting  our  industries  and  the 
people  generally,  he  early  set  out  to  familiarize  himself  as 
much  as  possible  with  this  subject.  In  1881  he  was  sent 
abroad,  with  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
to  "investigate  generally  the  subjects  of  undervaluation  of 
articles  exported  from  Europe  to  the  United  States,  the  costs 
of  production  of  such  articles  in  Europe,  etc."  He  carried 
from  the  Secretary  of  State,  Honorable  James  G.  Blaine,  a 
general  letter  of  instruction  to  our  consular  officers  abroad, 
to  "afford  him  such  facilities  and  assistance  as  may  be  proper 
to  promote  the  object  of  his  mission." 

He  remained  abroad  most  of  the  time  for  the  following 
four  years,  devoting  his  time  to  the  investigations  as  directed, 
and  to  study  of  the  tariffs  and  customs  administration  of 
foreign  nations.  As  a  result  of  his  investigations  and  re- 
ports to  the  Treasury  Department  during  that  period,  many 
of  the  most  flagrant  undervaluations  of  imported  articles 
were  discovered  and  remedied,  especially  in  silks,  velvets, 
gloves,  china,  and  other  articles  subject  to  high  ad  valorem 
duties. 

In  1882  he  was  requested  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
to  "formulate  his  views  and  impressions  generally  resulting 
from  his  experience  abroad,  as  they  would  prove  of  value  to 
the  Treasury  Department  and  possibly  to  the  Commission 


then  engaged  in  gathering  information  preparatory  to  the 
revision  of  the  tariff"  (framing  the  tariff  of  1883).  In  this 
very  exhaustive  report,  which  was  printed  by  the  Govern- 
ment, it  is  interesting  to  note  the  following  views  and  recom- 
mendations : 

1882. 

Report  of  Col.  George  C.  Tichenor  on  the  Tariff  and 
Customs  Administration. 

"The  information  resulting  from  my  inquiries  has  mainly 
been  communicated  to  the  department  in  the  numerous  re- 
ports I  have  transmitted  from  time  to  time.  These  reports 
abundantly  show  that  the  ingenuity  and  depravity  alike  of 
the  Old  World  and  our  own  have  been  ceaselessly  employed 
in  devising  means  and  perfecting  plans  for  defrauding  our 
revenues  and  evading  our  customs  laws.  There  is  scarcely 
any  kind  or  description  of  merchandise,  subject  to  ad  va- 
lorem duty,  imported  into  this  country  from  beyond  the 
seas  but  has  been,  or  is  being,  undervalued  more  or  less.  I 
would  not  be  understood  as  saying  that  all  of  any  class  has 
been  undervalued,  but  that  some  of  all  classes  has  been,  even 
of  regular  purchases,  while  those  consigned  to  agents  for 
sale  on  commission,  notably  from  the  continent  of  Europe, 
have  been  and  are  being  as  a  rule  considerably  undervalued. 

"The  impression  appears  to  prevail  in  most  countries  of 
Europe  that  our  rates  of  duty  on  most  articles  produced  in 
those  countries  are  so  high  as  to  be  oppressive  and  un- 
friendly, and  our  tariff  laws  as  a  whole  hostile,  iniquitous, 
and  contrary  to  that  comity  which  it  is  understood  should 
govern  commercial  intercourse  between  friendly  nations; 
hence  it  is  more  a  duty  than  sin  to  avoid  and  evade  them. 

"While  the  ad  valorem  system  appears  most  equitable  and 
just,  all  experience  has  shown  that  under  it  the  dishonest 
importers  prosper,  while  the  honest  ones  and  the  revenues 
suffer,  and  it  has  proved  to  be  most  expensive  to  the  Govern- 


6 

ment  and  people,  and  vexatious  and  demoralizing  to  customs 
officers  and  employees. 

"I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  I  am  entirely  convinced  that 
the  only  safe  and  sure  remedy  for  undervaluation  in  all  its 
forms  is  specific  duties,  and  I  believe  that  after  careful  con- 
sideration and  preparation  on  the  part  of  those  charged  with 
the  revision  of  our  tariff,  the  same  will  be  found  applicable 
to  most  articles  of  import.  In  order,  however,  to  obtain  the 
data  and  information  necessary  to  perfect  a  tariff  according 
to  such  system,  considerable  time  and  preparation  would  be 
required.  It  would,  I  apprehend,  be  necessary  to  have  all 
the  classes  of  merchandise  now  subject  to  ad  valorem  duties, 
and  to  which  it  was  contemplated  to  apply  the  specific  sys- 
tem, carefully  weighed  or  measured,  as  the  case  may  be,  and 
accounts'  kept  of  such  weights  or  measure,  and  of  the  value 
of  the  merchandise,  for  such  length  of  time  as  would  safely 
determine  the  relations  of  weight  or  measure  to  the  value. 
I  have  been  told  that  the  French  experimented  in  this  way 
for  some  years  before  the  promulgation  of  the  uniform 
specific  system  of  general  tariff  which  they  but  recently 
adopted. 

"Our  faulty  system,  or  lack  of  system,  of  civil  service  in 
itself  renders  an  ad  valorem  system  of  duties  difficult  and 
dangerous  to  us.  It  is  requisite  to  the  safe,  equal  and  effi- 
cient assessment  of  duties  according  to  value  that  we  should 
have  trained,  honest  and  faithful  experts  to  examine  and 
appraise  the  merchandise,  and  to  classify  the  same  correctly 
for  duty.  In  the  nature  of  things  we  cannot  have  such  offi- 
cials as  matters  now  stand.  If  a  competent  and  reliable  man 
happens  to  be  appointed,  his  tenure  is  so  uncertain  that  his 
time  and  thoughts  are  too  apt  to  be  employed  in  casting 
about  for  another  engagement  when  he  shall  be  bade  to  'step 
down  and  out/  instead  of  giving  his  best  thoughts  and  efforts 
to  the  Government.  If,  therefore,  the  ad  valorem  system  is 
to  be  perpetuated  in  our  tariff,  provision  should  be  made  for 
the  appointment  or  employment  of  honest  and  competent 


experts  as  appraisers  and  examiners,  whose  tenure  shall  be 
fixed  and  be  dependent  alone  upon  their  efficiency  and  good 
behavior.  A  man  may  be  an  excellent  butcher,  blacksmith 
or  bricklayer,  and  a  very  poor  examiner  of  silks,  embroider- 
ies, or  chemicals. 

"It  is  often  the  case  that  the  entire  importations,  especially 
of  consigned  goods,  of  particular  classes,  which  come  into 
the  country,  come  to  but  a  single  port  and  are  passed  upon 
by  but  one  and  the  same  examiner.  This  is  notably  the  case 
at  the  port  of  New  York,  where  vast  and  entire  lines  of  goods 
are  entered  there  and  at  no  other  port,  and  are  examined 
and  practically  appraised  and  passed  by  a  particular  ex- 
aminer, who,  if  he  be  incompetent,  careless,  unfaithful  or 
corrupt,  can  injure  the  revenue  and  legitimate  trade  beyond 
measure  without  being  detected. 

"Provision  should  be  made  for  some  responsible,  regular, 
and  efficient  supervision  of  appraisers  of  merchandise,  both 
as  relates  to  the  determination  of  dutiable  values  and  the  rate 
of  duty  or  classification  of  merchandise.  As  matters  now 
are,  each  appraiser  is  a  law  unto  himself,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence the  dutiable  values,  and  at  times  classification,  of  the 
same  articles,  differ  at  different  ports  according  to  the  intelli- 
gence, fidelity,  efficiency,  fancy,  or  temper  of  the  appraising 
officer.  Cases  of  this  kind  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  as  is 
well  known  at  the  department,  and  they  not  infrequently 
relate  to  important  articles  of  import.  The  evil  results  of 
such  inharmony  need  not  be  detailed. 

"It  has  occurred  to  me  that  it  might  be  well  to  clothe  the 
board  of  general  appraisers  with  such  supervisory  functions 
as  would  be  requisite  in  the  premises.  I  am  of  the  opinion, 
also,  that  the  number  of  general  appraisers  should  be  in- 
creased to  seven. 

"If  the  dutiable  value  of  merchandise — subject  to  ad  va- 
lorem duty — is  to  be  based  upon  the  foreign  market  value, 
the  law  should  more  clearly  define  what  shall  constitute  such 
foreign  market  value.    It  should,  in  substance,  declare  that 


the  same  shall  be  that  price  or  value  at  which  such  merchan- 
dise is,  at  the  time  of  exportation  to  the  United  States,  freely 
and  regularly  offered  to  all  desiring  to  purchase,  in  usual 
and  ordinary  wholesale  quantities  in  the  principal  markets 
of  the  country  from  whence  exported. 

"No  matter  upon  what  basis  duties  are  assessed,  all  prac- 
ticable means  should  be  adopted  to  secure  the  correct  and 
true  invoicing  of  goods,  both  as  to  value  and  their  actual  and 
recognized  trade  descriptions  and  designations.  All  invoices 
should  be  required  to  be  certified  by  the  United  States  con- 
sular officer  nearest  to  the  port  or  place  of  purchase  and 
shipment,  and  the  declarations  to  all  such  invoices  should 
be  required  to  be  sworn  to  before  officers  or  persons  au- 
thorized to  administer  oaths  which  are  valid  and  binding  in 
the  higher  courts  of  judicature  of  the  country. 

"It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  refer  to  the  troubles 
which  constantly  afflict  the  department  and  custom  officers 
as  well  as  importers  on  account  of  the  ambiguous  phrases, 
vague  descriptions,  loose  and  uncertain  definitions,  imprac- 
ticable and  indefinite  distinctions,  contradictory  terms,  and 
conflicting  provisions  which  abound  in  our  tariff  laws.  These 
weak  and  assailable  places  in  our  armor  often  serve  to  de- 
feat the  manifest  purpose  of  the  provisions,  and  open  the 
way  to  abuses  and  frauds.  In  a  very  large  number  of  in- 
stances they  have  proved  loopholes  through  which  imported 
goods  are  passed,  to  the  serious  detriment  of  our  home  manu- 
facturers, whose  products  it  was  the  probable  intention  of 
the  law  to  protect  against  such  competition. 

"It  is  the  constant  study  of  foreign  producers  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  such  provisions,  while  the  department  is  being 
literally  besieged  to  make  decisions  in  disregard  of  the  law 
or  to  cure  its  defects,  until  it  has  finally  come  that  the  de- 
partment's decisions  are  looked  to  rather  than  the  tariff  as 
enacted. 

"Plain,  simple  and  definite  terms  only  should  be  em- 
ployed in  constructing  a  tariff.     Mere  fancy,  arbitrary  or 


9 

fashionable  designations  should  be  avoided,  and  as  far  as 
practicable  generic  terms  or  descriptions  adhered  to. 

"In  closing  my  observations  concerning  the  tariff,  I  trust 
I  may  be  pardoned  if  I  remark  that  no  one  single  interest 
should  be  protected  at  the  expense  and  to  the  detriment  of 
other  and  greater  interests,  and  that  protection  ceases  to  be 
protection  when  it  is  carried  to  the  extent  of  pampering  an 
industry  into  slothfulness  and  beyond  the  reach  of  the  whip 
and  spur  of  competition.  As  'necessity  is  the  mother  of  in- 
vention,' so  is  competition  necessary  to  the  development  and 
enduring  prosperity  of  any  industry.  I  am  an  ardent  be- 
liever in  the  theory  of  protection.  Yet  having  given  some 
attention  to  the  manufacturing  industries  of  the  Old  World, 
I  cannot  overlook  the  fact  that  their  perfection  in  system, 
economical  organization,  and  the  cheapness  and  excellence 
of  their  productions  has  resulted  in  no  little  degree  from 
the  development  of  our  manufactures  and  our  high  rates  of 
duty.  We  as  a  people  are  famous  for  ingenuity,  and  I  doubt 
not  that  if  put  to  their  'mettle'  our  manufacturers  would 
prove  as  skilful  as  any  in  the  world.  While  fixing  such  rates 
of  duties  as  shall  appear  necessary  to  fairly  protect  our 
various  industries,  we  should  provide  such  means  as  will 
insure  the  exact  and  uniform  collection  of  such  duties. 

"Having  reference  to  the  action  of  certain  foreign  govern- 
ments in  interdicting  and  otherwise  hindering  the  importa- 
tion and  sale  within  their  dominions  of  certain  products  of 
this  country,  I  would  suggest  the  advisability  of  a  statutory 
provision  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  retali- 
ate upon  any  foreign  nation  that  shall,  without  good  cause 
either  by  legislative  enactment  or  arbitrary  measures  of  any 
kind,  interdict  or  hinder  the  importation  and  sale  of  any 
American  product  within  its  dominion,  by  forbidding  the 
admission  into  this  country  of  such  products  of  that  country 
as  he  may,  for  the  time  being,  deem  proper." 


10 

As  a  result  of  his  study  of  the  tariff  and  customs  laws  and 
the  administration  thereof  at  home  and  abroad,  and  of  his 
wide  experience  in  investigations  regarding  undervaluations 
and  other  methods  of  evading  our  tariff  and  customs  laws, 
Colonel  Tichenor  believed  that  the  only  safe  and  sure  means 
to  prevent  undervaluations  was  the  adoption  of  specific  duties 
in  place  of  ad  valorem  rates  wherever  practicable,  and  that 
the  many  other  changes  and  improvements  of  our  customs 
laws  suggested  by  him  would  further  tend  to  prevent  or 
greatly  restrict  evasion  of  our  tariffs  and  secure  greater  uni- 
formity in  the  appraisement  and  classifications  of  imported 
merchandise. 

While  stationed  at  the  Treasury  Department  in  Washing- 
ton from  1885  to  1889,  where  Secretaries  Manning  and  Fair- 
child  could  avail  themselves  of  his  general  knowledge  and 
advice  regarding  customs  administration  and  tariff  matters, 
he  succeeded  in  so  impressing  both  Secretaries  with  the  im- 
portance of  obtaining  the  changes  he  had  proposed  in  our 
tariff  and  customs  laws  that  many  of  his  recommendations 
met  with  their  approval,  as  shown  by  their  special  reports 
to  Congress  in  1885  and  1886,  and  were  also  adopted  by 
Representatives  Hewitt,  Mills,  and  Randall  in  the  adminis- 
trative sections  of  their  bills. 

The  Randall  Tariff. 

While  at  Washington  during  this  period,  Colonel  Tich- 
enor became  a  warm  friend  and  admirer  of  Hon.  Samuel  J. 
Randall,  and  devoted  much  of  his  time  from  1886  to  1888 
in  framing  the  Randall  Tariff  Bill. 

His  expert  knowledge  of  the  subject  and  the  data  gathered 
by  him  during  his  investigations  abroad  regarding  foreign 
tariffs,  costs  of  production,  materials,  etc.,  proved  of  great 
assistance  in  preparing  this  new  tariff.  To  improve  the  tariff 
in  the  manner  he  desired,  however,  it  was  necessary: 

1st.  To  frame  a  new  and  more  harmonious  and  scientific 
general  framework,  grouping  the  various  articles  into  more 


11 

systematic  arrangement  of  sections  or  schedules,  according 
to  materials,  general  character,  etc.,  with  proper  numbering 
of  paragraphs  (to  which  no  attention  had  been  given  in 
framing  previous  tariff  acts) . 

2d.  To  correct  the  many  inequalities  and  incongruities 
and  eliminate  the  ambiguities  abounding  in  the  previous 
tariffs,  owing  to  haste  and  carelessness  and  lack  o«f  expert 
advice  in  their  preparation. 

3d.  To  secure  the  necessary  data  for  properly  transposing 
various  rates  of  duty  from  ad  valorem  to  specific,  and  to 
retain  or  better  secure  the  proper  relation  between  such  rates 
as  were  to  be  imposed  on  the  numerous  related  or  inter- 
dependent articles,  taking  into  proper  consideration  the  rates 
on  raw  or  semi-raw  materials,  partly  finished  products,  etc. 

4th.  To  properly  analyze  the  many  conflicting  recom- 
mendations of  different  interests  affected  by  such  tariff 
changes. 

In  order  to  obtain  much  of  this  data  of  a  technical  nature, 
the  advice  and  assistance  of  the  leading  and  more  reputable 
manufacturers,  chemists,  and  importers  was  sought  and  ob- 
tained, as  is  always  proper  and  necessary  to  do  in  such  im- 
portant legislation  affecting  their  interests,  a  course  also  pur- 
sued by  the  German  and  French  tariff  commissions  in  re- 
adjusting the  tariff  schedules  of  their  countries. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  that  the  amount  of  work  involved 
in  the  preparation  of  this  new  tariff  was  enormous,  covering 
about  a  year  and  a  half,  during  which  time  Colonel  Tichenor 
worked  day  and  night,  as  indicated  by  a  few  of  Mr.  Ran- 
dall's notes  to  him,  as  follows: 

Washington,  D.  C,  Dec.  15,  1886. 

My  dear  Colonel  : — 

Part  of  the  number  of  speeches  I  sent  you  have  been  re- 
turned to  me.  I  want  you  to  give  me  a  further  list  of  articles 
which  can  go  in  the  free  list  not  produced  in  the  United 
States  that  are  now  taxed.     I  suppose  you  will  know  from 


12 

Mr.  Dawes'  speech  what  I  need  to  meet  his  views  in  this 
particular. 

Truly,  Samuel  J.  Randall. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  2,  1887. 
Dear  Colonel: — 

I  was  much  disappointed  not  to  have  seen  you.  I  was 
called  home  by  telegram  and  had  to  leave  New  York  city 
by  2  p.  m.  train  on  Thursday. 

Please  read  enclosed  and  return  by  next  mail  with  com- 
ments. I  submitted  to  our  Philadelphia  friends  your  list  of 
articles  to  go  to  free  list. 

Yours,  Samuel  J.  Randall. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  14,  1887. 
My  dear  Colonel: — 

Your  letter  received  through  Mr.  Maher. 
I  am  sorry  to  hear  of  your  enfeebled  health.     I  will  call 
on  you  Saturday  a.  m. 
Yours  truly, 

Samuel  J.  Randall. 

Washington,  D.  C,  May  5,  1887. 
My  dear  Colonel: — 

Enclosed  is  interesting  as  to  chicory  and  would  seem  fully 
to  confirm  your  judgment  in  relation  thereto.  This  letter  is 
important;  please  retain  for  use  on  floor  of  the  House.  I 
hope  you  are  well. 

Truly,  Samuel  J.  Randall. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  23,  1888. 
My  dear  Colonel: — 

I  am  now  ready  for  chemical  schedule  and  iron  and  steel 
as  well.    Can  you  come  to  my  home  tomorrow  evening?    I 
will  have  my  carriage  go  for  you  and  take  you  home.    The 
hour  most  convenient  is  7.30  p.  m.  to  begin. 
Yours  truly, 

Samuel  J.  Randall. 


13 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Jan.  23,  1888. 
My  dear  Colonel: — 

Please  read  enclosed  and  bring  with  you  tomorrow  eve- 
ning. Where  shall  I  send  my  carriage  for  you,  say  at  7 
p.  m.? 

1.  Bring  administrative  clauses. 

2.  Tobacco  schedule  based  upon  total  repeal  of  tobacco 
taxes. 

3.  Copy  of  explanations  of  the  first  preparation  of  reduc- 
tions. 

Yours  truly, 

Samuel  J.  Randall. 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  11,  1888. 
My  dear  Colonel  : — 

I  find  several  corrections  needed,  which  will  immediately 
occur  to  you  on  reading. 

I  dislike  to  disturb  you  on  Sunday,  but  will,  if  you  are 
willing,  call  this  evening  and  have  your  corrections  so  as 
to  introduce  corrected  bill  tomorrow  and  have  official  print 
accurate.    I  will  call  7  p.  m.  if  this  will  suit  you. 
Yours  truly, 

Samuel  J.  Randall. 

While  not  agreeing  with  all  of  Mr.  Randall's  ideas  re- 
garding the  advisability  of  reducing  the  surplus  in  the  Treas- 
ury and  customs  revenues,  they  had  the  same  general  ideas 
regarding  fair  protective  rates  for  our  domestic  interests,  as 
is  shown  by  an  examination  of  the  Randall  Bill  No.  8383, 
as  introduced  March  12th,  1888.  It  will  be  seen  that  for  the 
first  time  in  our  tariffs  protective  rates  of  duty  were  provided 
for  tin  plate,  and  that  specific  rates  were  more  largely  used 
in  place  of  ad  valorem. 


14 


Allison  Customs  Administrative  Bill. 

During  this  period,  1885  to  1887,  his  assistance  was  also 
sought  by  the  subcommittee  of  the  Senate  Finance  Com- 
mittee having  charge  of  the  preparation  of  a  new  and  im- 
proved Customs  Administrative  Bill  along  the  lines  pre- 
viously proposed  by  him  in  his  many  recommendations  upon 
this  subject.  Senator  Allison,  as  chairman  of  this  subcom- 
mittee, from  his  home  wrote  him  as  follows : 

Dubuque,  Iowa,  Aug.  1,  1887. 
My  dear  Colonel  : — 

I  had  arranged  for  a  meeting  of  my  subcommittee  August 
6th,  but  owing  to  the  illness  of  Morrill  and  the  absence  of 
Aldrich,  the  committee  could  not  meet.  We  have  now  post- 
poned meeting  until  November  10th  at  Washington. 

I  wish  I  could  have  a  couple  of  weeks  with  you  at  Wau- 
kesha, or  even  a  week.  Joseph  tells  me  you  will  be  up  there 
until  September  1st.  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  do  it,  but 
thought  I  would  like  to  know  how  busy  you  are  and  what 
you  think  of  it. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  rapidly  growing  stronger. 
Very  truly  yours, 

W.  B.  Allison. 

Dubuque,  Iowa,  Aug.  12,  1887. 
Dear  Colonel: — 

I  telegraphed  you  today  I  was  so  situated  that  I  could  not 
go  to  Waukesha,  and  that  I  would  write. 

I  have  communicated  with  all  my  subcommittee  and  they 
agree  that  we  should  meet  at  Washington  on  November  10th. 
In  that  view,  I  do  not  know  that  I  ought  to  do  anything  per- 
sonally until  that  time.  I  want  very  much  to  consult  with 
you  about  a  great  many  things,  but  I  think  the  committee 


15 

would  feel  that  they  ought  to  have  the  benefit  of  your  views 
as  well  as  myself. 

As  I  am  now  to  be  busy  for  the  remainder  of  the  fall, 
until  after  the  election,  I  do  not  see  how  I  can  spend  much 
time  on  the  work.  We  have  gone  over  a  great  many  matters 
and  have  had  printed  for  the  use  of  the  subcommittee  some 
sections  which  we  proposed  to  incorporate  in  the  law,  and 
I  send  you  by  today's  mail  a  copy  of  these  projected  sec- 
tions, which  I  will  be  glad  to  have  you  look  over  and  make 
such  comments  as  occur  to  you.  I.  would  also  like  to  have  you 
suggest  other  sections  which  you  think  necessary  to  the 
proper  administration  of  the  customs  law,  and  any  amend- 
ments to  the  sections  I  send  you  as  occur  to  you  as  neces- 
sary. 

If  you  are  not  to  be  in  Washington  in  November  in  the 
ordinary  discharge  of  your  duties,  I  think  I  shall  ask  Secre- 
tary Fairchild  on  behalf  of  our  committee  to  have  you  there 
during  the  time  from  November  10th  up  to  the  meeting  of 
Congress. 

Very  truly  yours, 

W.  B.  Allison. 

Upon  his  return  to  Washington,  as  above  requested  by 
Senator  Allison,  Colonel  Tichenor  devoted  a  large  part  of  his 
time  in  the  fall  of  1887  in  assisting  the  subcommittee  of  the 
Senate  Finance  Committee  in  framing  the  new  Customs 
Administrative  Bill,  which,  when  completed,  embodied  his 
former  recommendations  and  was  reported  to  the  Senate  by 
Senator  Allison  on  December  20,  1887,  known  as  Bill  No.  S. 
977,  "A  bill  to  regulate  the  importation  of  foreign  mer- 
chandise and  to  secure  uniformity  in  the  classification  and 
valuation  thereof,  and  for  other  purposes."  This  bill  finally 
passed  the  Senate,  March  16,  1888,  and  was  reported  to  the 
House  March  21,  1888,  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means,  where  it  remained  until  1890.  It  was  then 
taken  up  by  Major  McKinley,  upon  the  urgent  solicitation 


16 

of  Colonel  Tichenor,  as  will  hereafter  be  shown,  and  intro- 
duced by  him  in  the  House.  It  soon  passed  both  House  and 
Senate,  was  approved  by  the  President,  and  went  into  effect 
June  10,  1890. 

Allison  Tariff  Bill. 

Owing  to  the  intimate  friendship  that  had  existed  between 
Senator  Allison  and  Colonel  Tichenor,  dating  from  the  time 
of  Mr.  Allison's  first  election  to  the  United  States  Senate  as 
successor  of  Senator  Harlan,  Colonel  Tichenor,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  his  friend,  Mr.  A.  K.  Tingle,  early  in  1888, 
undertook  the  task  of  preparing  a  tariff  bill  for  Senator 
Allison,  which  they  hoped  would  prove  the  most  harmonious 
and  scientifically  adjusted  protective  measure  of  its  kind  that 
had  ever  been  introduced  in  Congress.  Using  the  Randall 
tariff,  which  Colonel  Tichenor  had  drawn,  as  the  basis,  they 
succeeded  in  working  out  still  greater  improvements,  in 
equalizing  the  rates  generally,  conforming  with  their  ideas 
of  fair  and  conservative  protection,  as  neither  Colonel  Tich- 
enor nor  Senator  Allison  belonged  to  the  school  of  extreme 
or  "ultra  protectionists." 

The  following  letter  from  Senator  Allison  indicates  that 
he  doubted  the  advisability  of  increasing  the  rates  in  his  bill 
to  the  extent  which  some  of  the  other  Republican  members 
of  his  subcommittee  of  the  Senate  Finance  Committee 
deemed  expedient: 

Aug.  3,  1888. 
My  dear  Colonel: — 

You  have  seen  that  the  constant  tendency  here  is  to  in- 
crease rates.  How  would  this  suit  our  people  in  the  West? 
I  send  you  today  two  copies  of  the  Mills  Bill  as  it  passed. 
Now,  I  want  you  to  take  up  this  bill  and  analyze  it  fully, 
your  analyzation  to  be  embodied  in  our  report  to  the  Senate, 
showing  its  effect  upon  our  industries. 


17 

I  hope  you  are  improved  by  the  waters  and  by  the  rest 
you  are  having. 

Sincerely  yours, 

W.  B.  Allison. 

Owing  to  his  broken  health,  Colonel  Tichenor  was  at  this 
time  at  Waukesha,  Wisconsin,  resting  and  recuperating  from 
his  arduous  work  of  the  preceding  year.  Upon  receipt  of 
the  above  request  he  succeeded  in  having  his  friend,  A.  K. 
Tingle,  special  agent  of  the  Treasury  Department,  sent  to 
Waukesha  to  assist  him,  and  at  once  began  preparing  the 
desired  "Analyzation  of  the  Mills  Bill,"  showing  its  effects 
on  our  industries,  etc.,  and  at  the  same  time  revising  or  read- 
justing certain  of  the  schedules  of  the  Allison  Bill. 

On  October  3,  1888,  Senator  Allison  reported  his  tariff 
bill  to  the  Senate  as  a  substitute  for  the  Mills  Bill,  and  on 
October  4,  1888,  Senator  Aldrich  submitted  a  report  thereon, 
containing  Colonel  Tichenor's  "Analyzation  of  the  Mills 
Bill,"  and  described  the  improvements  in  the  Allison  Bill 
over  previous  tariff  acts  (by  reason  of  the  adoption  of  Colonel 
Tichenor's  new  general  tariff  framework,  revised  schedules 
of  specific  rates,  new  classifications,  etc.),  as  follows: 

The  Substitute  Proposed  by  the  Finance  Committee. 

"The  House  Bill  (H.  R  9051)  under  consideration  was 
received  by  your  committee  July  25,  and  was  immediately 
referred  to  the  following  subcommittee:  Messrs.  Allison,  of 
Iowa,  chairman;  Aldrich,  of  Rhode  Island;  Jones,  of  Ne- 
vada ;  Hiscock,  of  New  York ;  Beck,  of  Kentucky ;  Harris,  of 
Tennessee,  and  Voorhees,  of  Indiana,  who  reported  the  same 
back,  September  25,  to  the  full  committee,  with  an  amend- 
ment in  the  nature  of  a  substitute,  which  was  adopted  by  the 
full  committee  and  reported  to  the  Senate  this  day  by  Mr. 
Allison. 

"In  the  preparation  of  the  substitute  submitted  for  the 
consideration  of  the  Senate,  it  has  been  the  purpose  of  your 

I 


18 

committee  to  present  a  measure  which  would  as  far  as  possi- 
ble fulfill  the  important  requirements  of  revenue  revision 
which  we  have  enumerated.  The  numerous  failures  and  de- 
fects of  the  House  bill  rendered  the  task  of  amending  that 
bill  impossible,  and  made  the  preparation  of  a  compre- 
hensive and  consistent  measure  of  relief  and  revision  neces- 
sary. We  submit  this  substitute  to  the  judgment  of  the 
Senate,  and  invite  for  it  full  and  careful  scrutiny. 

"In  the  revision  of  the  dutiable  schedules  and  the  free 
list  submitted,  constant  effort  has  been  made  to  correct  the 
inequalities  arid  to  eliminate  the  ambiguities  of  the  existing 
tariff. 

"In  pursuance  of  our  general  plan  to  lessen  the  evils  of 
undervaluation;  to  secure  more  certainty,  uniformity  and 
equality  in  the  collection  of  duties  as  well  as  economy  in 
administration,  specific  or  compound  rates  have  been  sub- 
stituted for  ad  valorem  rates  wherever  practicable  or  when 
the  necessary  data  could  be  obtained.  Whenever  changes  of 
this  character  have  been  made,  they  have  been  adjusted  upon 
information  obtained  from  customs  experts  or  from  other 
reliable  sources. 

"It  will  be  observed  that  all  of  the  tariff  schedules  have 
been  thoroughly  revised,  rearranged,  and  greatly  simplified. 
They  have  been  divided  into  paragraphs  and  numbered  con- 
secutively, in  order  that  in  the  future  amendments  may  be 
made  to  a  single  paragraph  or  schedule  without  a  general 
re-enactment  of  all  the  schedules,  as  is  now  necessary  to  pre- 
vent confusion.  The  number  of  paragraphs  has  been  re- 
duced from  495  in  the  tariff  of  1883  to  440  in  the  substitute 
submitted." 

The  report  also  contained  a  most  able  argument  for  in- 
creased protective  rates  on  wools  and  woolens,  as  a  result  of 
which  the  original  Allison  rates  in  this  schedule  were  raised 
considerably. 


19 

The  bill  finally  passed  the  Senate  practically  as  originally 
drawn,  except  for  the  changes  in  the  woolen  schedule,  ori 
January  22,  1889.  It  was  reported  in  the  House  and  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  January  26, 
1889. 

A  comparison  of  the  Allison  Senate  substitute  for  the 
Mills  Bill  and  the  McKinley  Bill  shows  that  the  former  was 
used  by  McKinley  as  the  foundation  or  basis  of  the  McKinley 
Bill,  the  latter,  however,  being  more  extensive  in  its  high 
protective  and  in  some  instances  prohibitive  rates. 

Appointed  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
Department. 

Owing  to  his  work  in  framing  these  new  tariffs  and  cus- 
toms laws,  Colonel  Tichenor  had  by  this  time  reached  a 
point  where  he  was  regarded  by  the  leaders  of  both  political 
parties,  and  by  the  leading  manufacturers  and  importers, 
as  the  greatest  authority  in  the  United  States  on  tariff  and 
customs  matters. 

Acting  therefore  upon  the  advice  of  the  Republican  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate  Finance  Committee  and  the  House  Ways 
and  Means  Committee,  as  well  as  other  influential  members 
of  Congress  and  large  business  interests,  President  Harrison, 
soon  after  the  selection  of  his  Cabinet,  appointed  Colonel 
Tichenor,  March  11,  1889,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury in  charge  of  customs  and  internal  revenue,  etc. 

Few  appointments  ever  met  with  greater  approval  from 
manufacturing  interests,  the  better  class  of  importers,  and 
the  business  community  generally.  The  press  throughout 
the  country,  regardless  of  political  beliefs,  united  in  declar- 
ing his  appointment  most  fitting.  This  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  a  few  of  the  articles  appearing  in  the 
papers  at  that  time: 


20 
New  York  Herald. 

"The  request  for  his  appointment  comes  from  the  mer- 
chants, who  have  long  known  his  prominent  qualifications 
for  this  important  place,  and  is  urged  by  the  Republicans 
of  the  two  revenue  committees  because  they  had  full  experi- 
ence of  his  great  knowledge,  in  the  help  he  had  given  them." 

New  York  Post. 

"He  has  aided  in  the  preparation  of  all  the  tariff  bills 
since  that  time.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  experts  for  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Finance  and  for  Mr.  Randall  in  the 
preparation  of  his  bill." 

New  York  Press. 

"Colonel  Tichenor  has  for  many  years  been  the  highest 
authority  on  all  tariff  matters." 

New  York  Star. 

"There  has  been  scarcely  a  tariff  law  passed  in  the  last 
fifteen  years  in  which  Mr.  Tichenor's  handiwork  does  not 
show." 

Washington  Capitol. 

"The  appointment  gives  general  satisfaction.  Colonel 
Tichenor  has  fairly  won  the  honor  by  the  hard  work  done 
during  the  past  four  years  on  the  tariff." 

Chicago  Times. 

"The  choice  is  highly  commended  by  men  of  both  parties. 
Mr.  Randall  says,  a  man  better  fitted  for  the  position  could 
not  have  been  found  in  the  whole  country." 


21 

Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

"Colonel  Tichenor  owes  his  promotion  only  to  his  con- 
spicuous fitness." 

Springfield  Republican. 

"He  is  regarded  as  the  most  expert  tariff  man  in  the 
country." 

New  Orleans  City  Item. 

"The  wisdom  and  sound  business  sense  of  this  appoint- 
ment cannot  be  questioned." 

As  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  charge  of  cus- 
toms, he  prepared  that  part  of  the  Secretary's  Annual  Report 
to  Congress  of  1889  which  related  to  the  tariff  and  customs 
revenues,  etc.,  in  which  it  will  be  seen  that  he  again  urgently 
recommended  the  adoption  of  those  improved  administrative 
features  of  customs  laws  for  which  he  had  contended  and 
labored  so  continuously  and  which  had  been  incorporated  in 
the  Allison  Customs  Administrative  Bill,  No.  977,  of  Decem- 
ber 20,  1887,  and  in  the  Allison  Tariff  Bill  of  October  3, 
1888,  both  of  which  had  passed  the  Senate,  but  were  still 
held  by  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  House. 

The  report  of  1889  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

Tariff  for  Revenue  Only. 

A  tariff  for  revenue  only  contemplates  such  an  adjustment 
of  duty  as  will  yield  the  largest  amount  of  revenue  at  the 
lowest  rates.  It  means  the  largest  possible  quantity  of  im- 
portations consistent  with  the  amount  of  customs  revenue 
required  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  Government. 

If,  under  a  protective  tariff,  $300,000,000  of  importations 
would  pay  an  annual  revenue  of  $100,000,000,  to  produce 
the  same  amount  at  half  the  rates,  under  a  tariff  for  revenue 


22 

only,  would  require  $600,000,000  of  importations.  The  re- 
sult of  this  policy,  in  the  case  supposed,  would  be  to  take 
from  American  producers  their  home  market  for  $300,- 
000,000  of  products  and  transfer  it  to  their  foreign  com- 
petitors. While  it  would  thus  deprive  our  workmen  of  em- 
ployment, it  would  also  deplete  the  country  of  gold  to  pay 
for  foreign  labor  and  material,  which  should  be  supplied  at 
home. 

Revision  op  the  Tariff. 

Whatever  differences  of  opinion  there  may  be  with  regard 
to  the  best  method  of  disposing  of  the  surplus  revenue, 
and  preventing  the  accumulation  of  money  in  the  Treasury 
beyond  the  proper  needs  of  the  Government,  and  however 
diverse  may  be  opinions  as  to  the  abstract  question  of  tax- 
ation for  revenue  purposes,  customs  and  internal,  there  is 
general  agreement  that  a  revision  of  the  tariff  and  customs 
laws  is  urgently  needed. 

I  believe  it  to  be  the  dominant  sentiment  of  the  country 
that,  in  the  adjustment  of  duties  on  imports,  protection  to 
home  industry  should  be  a  governing  consideration.  While 
there  is  a  wide  divergence  of  judgment  on  this  proposition, 
it  can  not  well  be  denied  that  it  is  the  settled  policy  of  this 
Government  that  such  duties  shall  be  so  levied  as  to  result 
in  the  protection  of  labor,  employed  in  domestic  industries, 
from  destructive  foreign  competition. 

One  of  the  fundamental  objects  in  the  levying  of  duties 
on  imports,  declared  in  the  preamble  of  the  first  tariff  act- 
passed  by  Congress  in  1789,  was  the  encouragement  and  pro- 
tection of  manufactures.  The  doctrine  thus  proclaimed  has 
broadened  with  our  advancing  civilization  and  growth,  and 
its  wisdom  has  been  demonstrated  by  the  marvelous  develop- 
ment of  those  industries,  protected  by  the  high  duties,  de- 
manded by  the  necessities  of  the  Government  incident  to 
civil  war. 

It  should,  however,  be  remembered  that  the  prime  object 
in  the  imposition  of  these  high  duties  was  the  raising  of 


23 

revenue,  and  rates  were  adjusted  to  that  end,  rather  than  to 
the  protection  and  development  of  domestic  industries.  It 
came  about,  therefore,  that  the  measure  of  protection  was 
capricious  and  unequal,  and  some  industries  were  greatly 
prospered,  while  others,  equally  favored  by  natural  resources 
and  conditions,  either  languished  or  failed  of  development. 

Inequalities. 

The  tariff  act  of  1883  was  hastily  considered  and  passed. 
While  intended  as  a  protective  measure,  it  was  based  on 
former  tariffs,  and  perpetuated  many  of  the  inequalities  and 
other  defects  with  which  those  acts  abounded,  and  which 
have  not  only  been  directly  hurtful  to  certain  domestic  in- 
terests, but  have  afforded  opportunities  for  evasion,  and 
provoked  constant  dispute  and  litigation. 

Certain  of  these  inequalities  and  defects  in  the  present 
law,  arise  also  from  the  changed  conditions  of  trade  and 
manufacture  since  its  enactment. 

Appeals  and  Suits. 

Uniformity  of  assessment  at  the  several  ports,  and  often 
as  between  importers  of  like  merchandise  at  the  same  ports, 
has  not  been  secured.  Doubts  as  to  the  meaning  of  many 
of  the  separate  provisions  of  the  tariff  schedules  have  led 
to  constant  appeals  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Thus 
domestic  producers  and  importing  merchants  are  deprived 
of  a  stable  basis  for  their  business  calculations,  and  trade 
and  commerce,  as  affected  by  the  tariff,  is  thereby  disturbed 
and  unsettled.  There  were  25,349  appeals  by  importers 
from  the  decisions  of  collectors  of  customs,  chiefly  from  the 
port  of  New  York,  during  the  last  fiscal  year,  and  there  are 
now  pending  in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York  4,497  suits,  which  relate  to 
more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  different  articles  concern- 
ing which  the  classification  is  disputed. 


24 

As  a  result  of  this  increasing  practice  of  making  protest 
and  appeal,  in  all  cases  where  the  meaning  of  the  statutes  is 
in  any  sense  obscure,  the  public  has  come  to  look  rather  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  than  to  Congress  for  relief 
from  real  or  imaginary  hardships  attributed  to  the  tariff. 
Indeed,  the  Secretary  is  constantly  importuned  to  make 
rulings  equivalent  to  tariff  legislation. 

All  this  is  subversive  of  commercial  and  official  morality, 
is  destructive  of  legitimate  trade,  and  appeals  to  the  judg- 
ment of  all  fair-minded  men  for  correction. 

Conflicting  Provisions  and  Ambiguities. 

It  is  therefore  urged  that  in  revising  the  tariff  schedules 
care  be  taken  to  avoid  conflicting  provisions  and  ambigui- 
ties, which  have  been  productive  of  the  evils  mentioned; 
also  that  rates  be  so  adjusted  as  to  avoid  the  inequalities  of 
the  existing  law  so  hurtful  to  domestic  industries. 

Extension  of  Trade. 

Furthermore,  in  the  construction  of  a  tariff  law  in  its 
broader  sense,  reference  should  be  had  not  only  to  the 
changed  conditions  of  our  domestic  commerce  and  manu- 
factures since  the  enactment  of  previous  tariffs,  but  also 
to  the  cultivation  and  extension  of  our  trade  relations  with 
those  countries  whose  geographical  situation  and  resources 
are  such  as  to  make  intimate  commercial  intercourse  with 
them  particularly  desirable. 

Undervaluations — Systems  of  Duty. 

In  order  that  Congress  might  have  the  intelligent  opinion 
of  expert  officers  charged  with  the  enforcement  of  the  tariff 
laws  at  the  principal  ports,  I  caused  to  be  submitted  to  them, 
for  examination  and  criticism,  three  important  tariff  bills 
which  were  considered  by  the  last  Congress,  viz.,  House 


25 

bills  8383  (Randall  Bill)  and  9051  (Mills  Bill)  and  the 
Senate  substitute  for  the  latter  (Allison  Bill).  The  reports 
of  these  officers  are  contained  in  the  appendix  to  this  report, 
and  are  commended  to  the  attention  of  Congress.  Particular 
attention  is  invited  to  the  statements  therein,  showing  the 
alarming  prevalence  of  undervaluations.  As  a  remedy  for 
this  evil  the  substitution  of  specific  for  ad  valorem  duties, 
wherever  feasible  under  our  tariff  system,  is  generally  advo- 
cated. In  this  I  concur;  and  this  view  is  sustained  not  only 
by  the  fact  that  the  commerical  countries  of  Europe  have 
discarded  the  ad  valorem  and  adopted  the  specific  system, 
but  also  by  the  opinions  of  a  long  line  of  my  predecessors. 
Under  high  ad  valorem  rates  pure  and  simple,  or  the  more 
objectionable  system  of  specific  rates  based  on  value,  not 
only  do  discriminations  occur  between  individual  importers 
at  the  same  port,  always  in  favor  of  the  unscrupulous,  but 
different  amounts  of  duty  are  collected  at  different  ports 
upon  merchandise  of  the  same  value.  The  inevitable  result, 
as  experience  shows,  is,  that  the  honest  trader  is  driven  out 
of  business,  and  domestic  producers  are  insidiously  deprived 
of  the  protection  which  the  law  intends  to  give  them  and 
upon  the  faith  of  which  their  business  ventures  are  based. 

Adjustment  of  Tariff  to  Changed  Conditions. 

It  is  obvious  that  as  the  conditions  of  protection  and 
trade  change,  particular  provisions  of  a  tariff  law  may  be- 
come inapplicable  and  even  harmful.  While  legislative  in- 
terference should  not  be  so  frequent  as  to  unnecessarily  dis- 
turb the  commercial  and  industrial  interests  of  the  country, 
it  is  suggested  that  reports  at  stated  periods,  by  expert  offi- 
cers specially  designated  for  that  purpose,  upon  the  opera- 
tions of  the  tariff  laws,  and  indicating  needed  changes,  would 
prove  valuable. 


26 


Customs  Administration. 

The  difficulties  so  embarrassing  to  the  customs  officers 
and  the  department,  growing  out  of  the  infirmities  of  the 
tariff  schedules,  are  intensified  by  the  inadequacy  and  faulty 
character  of  the  laws  relating  to  customs  administration, 
which  also  needlessly  and  seriously  annoy  and  hamper  our 
citizens  engaged  in  foreign  commerce,  and  in  many  ways 
operate  to  neutralize  or  nullify  the  purposes  of  the  tariff. 
These  laws  are  derived  from  two  hundred  and  sixty-three 
acts  of  Congress  passed  during  a  period  of  ninety  years.  The 
act  of  1799,  the  nucleus  of  the  customs  system,  was  at  the 
time  of  its  enactment,  and  has  since  been  found  to  be,  as  has 
been  well  stated,  "a  marvel  of  clearness,  conciseness,  and 
accuracy."  It  was  admirably  adapted  to  the  conditions  of 
the  period  of  its  passage,  and  these  did  not  materially 
change  within  the  succeeding  half  century.  But  since  then 
the  course  of  commerce,  the  usages  of  trade,  and  the  condi- 
tions of  commercial  transactions  generally,  have  so  changed, 
and  the  volume  of  business  has  so  expanded,  that  many  of 
its  provisions  are  ill-suited  to  the  present  time.  The  intro- 
duction of  steam  navigation,  its  conduct  by  great  companies 
with  large  fleets  and  regular  service,  communication  by 
ocean  cables,  and  other  changes  in  the  commercial  world 
wrought  by  these  and  other  agencies,  render  desirable  a  re- 
vision of  the  statutes  governing  customs  administration  so  as 
to  adapt  them  to  existing  needs. 

It  is  true  that  the  statutes  relating  to  this  subject  were 
included  in  title  XXXIV  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  1873, 
but  this  was  rather  a  codification  than  a  revision,  as  the  com- 
missioners of  that  revision  were  debarred  from  materially 
changing  the  phraseology  of  the  laws,  or  introducing  new 
matter.  By  the  segregation  under  one  title  of  sections  de- 
rived from  so  many  distinct  laws,  the  revisers  were  una- 
voidably led  into  many  errors  respecting  the  relative  arrange- 
ment of  these  sections,  so  that  the  imperfect  character  of  the 
existing  statutes  is  in  some  cases  magnified  by  this  disloca- 


27 

tion  of  their  parts.  Since  the  enactment  of  the  Revised 
Statutes,  numerous  amendments  and  much  new  and  frag- 
mentary legislation  have  added  still  further  to  the  difficulties 
of  construction. 

No  matter  upon  what  lines  the  tariff  schedules  may  be 
revised,  or  whether  revised  at  all,  it  is  hoped  that  Congress 
will  recognize  the  urgent  need  for  such  a  revision  of  these 
statutes  as  will  remedy  the  evils  mentioned.  The  reports  of 
the  customs  officers,  contained  in  the  appendix  to  this  re- 
port, afford  much  information  concerning  these  difficulties 
and  indicate  remedial  legislation  thought  to  be  advisable. 

Invoices — Consular  Authentication. 

There  is  urgent  need  for  radical  reform  in  the  system  of 
appraisements.  Under  the  present  law  it  is  practically  im- 
possible to  secure  uniform  and  just  valuations.  The  pro- 
visions relating  to  the  form  of  invoices  and  their  consular 
authentication  should  be  amended  so  as  to  give  appraising 
officers  in  all  cases  more  definite  information  of  the  actual 
transaction  which  the  invoice  is  claimed  to  represent  than 
is  at  present  required.  The  invoice  should  contain  an  ac- 
curate description  of  the  goods ;  it  should  be  made  out  in  the 
currency  of  the  country  of  export,  or  the  currency  actually 
paid;  and  where  goods  are  obtained  otherwise  than  by  pur- 
chase, the  declaration  should  state  that  the  invoice  repre- 
sents the  actual  market  value  of  the  merchandise  in  the 
principal  markets  of  the  country  whence  exported,  instead 
of  the  time  and  place  when  and  where  procured  or  manu- 
factured, as  now  required  by  the  statute ;  so  that  the  declara- 
tion may  conform  to  the  legal  basis  of  appraisement. 

Reappraisements. 

The  system  of  appointing  merchants  to  act  as  members 
of  reappraising  boards,  although  it  may  have  worked  satis- 
factorily in  former  years,  when  the  volume  of  importations 


28 

was  comparatively  small,  and  importers  owned  the  goods 
imported,  and  when  disputes  as  to  value  were  rare,  has  be- 
come, under  present  conditions,  not  only  ineffective,  but  pro- 
ductive of  serious  abuses,  scandal,  and  contention,  and  is 
injurious  alike  to  the  revenue  and  legitimate  trade.  The 
remedy  generally  suggested,  and  which  appears  to  have  met 
the  approval  of  reputable  merchants  throughout  the  country, 
is  an  increase  in  the  number  and  an  enlargement  of  the  func- 
tions of  general  appraisers  so  as  to  devolve  upon  those  officers 
the  sole  duty  of  hearing  and  disposing  of  appeals  from  orig- 
inal appraisements.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  such  legisla- 
tion is  imperatively  needed. 

Revision  of  Customs  Laws. 

Many  of  the  reformatory  changes  in  the  customs  laws 
above  suggested  have  been  embodied  in  one  form  or  another 
in  bills  introduced  in  the  last  Congress.  These  were  the  re- 
sult of  careful  investigation  and  consideration  by  the  appro- 
priate committees,  and  their  general  features  are  understood 
to  have  had  the  approval  of  my  immediate  predecessor.  It 
is  not  improbable  that  these  or  similar  measures  will  be  again 
introduced,  with  better  promise  of  enactment.  Believing 
the  changes  thus  proposed  would  greatly  benefit  customs 
administration,  I  urgently  recommend  them  to  the  early  and 
favorable  consideration  of  Congress. 

While  recommending  this  legislation,  I  earnestly  invite 
attention  to  the  necessity  for  a  complete  codification  and 
revision  of  the  customs  laws,  to  include  such  modifications 
and  new  provisions  as  practice  and  experience  have  demon- 
strated are  required  for  the  efficiency  of  the  system. 

Materials  for  such  a  codification  and  revision  have  been 
collected  and  partially  formulated,  under  my  direction,  by 
competent  officers  of  this  department.  These  materials  are 
intended  for  and  will  be  at  the  disposal  of  Congress. 


29 


McEinley  Tariff  and  Customs  Administrative  Act. 

During  the  winter  of  1889-1890  Major  McKinley,  then 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  spent  much  of  his  time  conferring 
with  Colonel  Tichenor  on  tariff  matters,  which  gave  the 
latter  opportunity  to  again  impress  upon  him  the  importance 
of  introducing  the  Customs  Administrative  Bill,  which,  as 
previously  shown,  had  originally  been  introduced  by  Senator 
Allison,  passing  the  Senate  March  16,  1888,  and  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  March  21,  1888. 
It  was  Major  McKinley 's  desire  to  incorporate  these  admin- 
istrative features  in  his  tariff  bill,  but  upon  the  urgent  solici- 
tation of  Colonel  Tichenor  he  finally  introduced  the  bill  as 
an  independent  measure,  January  14,  1890,  under  the  title 
of  the  Customs  Administrative  Act,  which  soon  was  passed 
by  both  House  and  Senate,  approved  by  President  Harrison, 
and  became  the  law  June  10,  1890,  thus  securing  at  last  the 
many  improvements  of  our  customs  laws  for  which  Colonel 
Tichenor  had  labored  continuously  for  some  seven  or  eight 
years.  Notwithstanding  the  political  changes  of  President 
and  Congress  and  the  attacks  against  certain  features  of  this 
act,  it  has  since  remained  as  the  principal  law  governing 
the  collection  of  our  customs  revenues  without  any  impor- 
tant change  having  been  deemed  necessary  or  advisable. 

As  previously  shown,  the  Allison  tariff,  as  passed  by  the 
Senate  January  22,  1889,  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means  January  26,  1889,  was  adopted  by  Major 
McKinley  at  Colonel  Tichenor's  suggestion  as  the  foundation 
for  his  tariff  bill,  and  a  comparison  of  these  two  tariff  meas- 
ures will  show  that  they  only  differed  by  reason  of  certain 
increased  rates,  particularly  in  the  woolen  schedule,  and  in 
placing  raw  sugar  on  the  free  list  and  providing  for  a  bounty 
on  raw  sugar  for  our  domestic  producers.  In  increasing  the 
rates,  Major  McKinley  had  in  view  still  greater  protection 
for  the  American  producers  and  manufacturers,  and  the  con- 


30 

sequent  reduction  of  our  Treasury  surplus  and  customs  reve- 
nues, by  making  the  duties  on  certain  classes  of  goods  suffi- 
ciently high  to  practically  prohibit  importations  thereof,  the 
purpose  of  his  bill  being  expressed  in  its  title,  as  follows: 
"An  act  to  reduce  the  revenue  and  equalize  duties  on  im- 
ports, and  for  other  purposes." 

Colonel  Tichenor  was  strongly  opposed  to  these  extremely 
high  rates  and  to  the  general  idea  of  reducing  the  surplus 
in  the  Treasury  in  such  manner,  as  is  later  shown  by  his 
correspondence  and  recommendations  on  the  subject  when 
framing  the  schedules  of  the  Dingley  Bill. 

Appointed  General  Appraiser. 

As  a  fitting  recognition  of  his  work  in  framing  and  secur- 
ing the  enactment  of  the  Customs  Administrative  Act,  he 
received  from  President  Harrison,  July  16,  1890,  the  first 
appointment  made  thereunder  as  a  general  appraiser,  and 
soon  after  went  to  New  York,  where  he  was  selected  to  act 
as  president  of  the  Board  of  General  Appraisers,  which  posi- 
tion he  retained  as  long  as  his  health  permitted. 

In  1894  his  assistance  was  sought  by  William  L.  Wilson, 
chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  and  Daniel 
Voorhees,  chairman  of  the  Senate  Finance  Committee,  re- 
garding various  schedules  and  provisions  of  the  Wilson  Bill, 
as  shown  by  the  following  letters : 

Nov.  19,  1893. 
Dear  Sir: — 

Yours  enclosing  additional  suggestions  for  amendment  of 
tariff  laws  has  reached  me.  The  committee  will  give  careful 
attention  to  the  paper,  as  we  have  already  done  to  your 
previous  papers,  for  which,  as  for  this,  we  are  greatly  your 
debtor,  as  we  have  derived  much  aid  from  it. 
Sincerely  yours, 

William  L.  Wilson. 


31 

At  one  time,  the  wording  of  the  Wilson  Bill  would  have 
legislated  the  Board  of  General  Appraisers  out  of  office,  but 
the  fact  being  discovered  by  Colonel  Tichenor  in  examining 
the  proposed  changes,  he  called  Mr.  Wilson's  attention  to  it, 
and  this  feature  of  the  proposed  law  was  therefore  remedied. 
Mr.  Wilson  wrote  him  as  follows : 

Dec.  2,  1893. 
My  dear  Sir  : — 

The  committee  had  no  intention  of  legislating  the  Board 
of  General  Appraisers  out  of  office,  or  in  any  way  affecting 
their  tenure  under  the  existing  law,  and  the  final  draft  of 
the  bill  when  reported  to  the  House  would  provide  against 
any  such  construction.  The  bill  as  made  up  simply  gives 
the  result  of  our  labor,  and  several  clauses  of  the  kind  you 
suggest  are  to  be  added. 
Sincerely  yours, 

William  L.  Wilson. 


The  Dingley  Tariff. 

In  January,  1896,  he  began  the  preparation  of  some 
schedules  to  be  incorporated  by  Honorable  Nelson  Dingley, 
Jr.,  in  his  revenue  bill,  intended  to  cure  some  of  the  most 
glaring  inequalities  and  deficiencies  of  the  Wilson  Bill.  Mr. 
Dingley  wrote  him  in  this  connection,  January  3,  1896,  as 
follows : 

Dear  Sir: — 

Please  forward  me  the  suggestions  in  the  line  indicated. 
Many  thanks  for  your  kind  offer. 
Yours  truly, 

Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 


32 

January  6,  1896. 
Hon.  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr., 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
My  dear  Sir  : — 

I  hasten  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  yours  of  the  3d 
inst.  When  I  wrote  you  on  the  24th  ult.  I  had  in  mind  cer- 
tain amendments  to  the  present  tariff  act  designed  to  cor- 
rect some  of  its  most  striking  inequalities,  and  which  1 
thought  might  be  embraced  in  the  emergency  bill  you  were 
then  preparing.  Immediately  after  writing  you,  however, 
I  learned  that  it  was  not  intended  to  amend  any  of  the 
schedules,  and  therefore  I  decided  to  defer  the  completion 
of  my  suggestions  until  I  could  have  time  and  opportunity 
to  enlarge  their  scope  for  use  by  your  committee  in  a  more 
comprehensive  and  needed  revision  of  the  present  law.  This 
will  necessarily  require  considerable  time,  for  the  present 
Wilson  tariff  abounds  in  inequalities,  incongruities,  and 
absurdities,  not  only  hurtful  to  domestic  interests,  legitimate 
commerce  and  the  revenues,  but  which  go  to  preclude  orderly 
administration  and  invite  fraud  and  abuse. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  present  my  suggestions  in  the  form 
of  definite  amendments  or  modifications  of  each  paragraph, 
following  each  with  the  reasons  therefor  in  extenso.  Their 
chief  purpose  will  be  to  simplify  and  prevent  frauds  and 
abuses  in  administration,  to  be  supplemented  only  by  the 
transfer  from  the  free  list  to  the  dutiable  list  of  articles  that 
are  legitimate  subjects  of  revenue,  which  would  yield  many 
millions  of  dollars  in  duties.  Really,  the  whole  law  should  be 
revised,  and  the  ad  valorem  rates  made  specific  or  compound 
wherever  practicable,  in  the  interests  of  common  honesty. 
In  all  my  experience,  I  have  never  known  the  honest  busi- 
ness public  so  earnest  and  determined  as  it  is  now  on  this 
subject. 

If  in  view  of  what  I  have  said  you  deem  it  worth  while 


33 

to  await  my  action  for  say  a  month  or  so,  please  advise  me 
accordingly. 

Very  truly  yours, 

George  C.  Tichenor. 

The  following  letter  from  Senator  Allison,  which  he  re- 
ceived about  this  time,  showed  that  it  would  be  impossible 
for  any  tariff  bill  to  pass  the  Senate  during  that  session  of 
Congress,  and  he  therefore  decided  not  to  proceed  any  further 
in  the  preparation  of  the  bill  for  Mr.  Dingley : 

Senate  Chamber, 
Washington,  D.  C,  Feb.  29,  1896. 
My  dear  Colonel  Tichenor: — 

I  have  your  esteemed  favor  of  28th  inst.  and  note  contents. 
It  is  utterly  impossible  for  any  tariff  bill  to  pass  the  Senate 
at  this  session.  We  lack  one  of  a  majority  with  all  our 
members  in  and  all  united,  Populists  and  Democrats  having 
one  majority  in  any  event.  Every  Democrat  is  opposed  to 
any  bill  at  present,  and  I  take  it  the  Populists  also,  and  with 
the  dissatisfaction  among  Republicans,  my  judgment  is  that 
it  is  utterly  useless  to  make  any  attempt  to  revise  the  Dingley 
Revenue  Bill  or  to  start  a  new  one  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. So  believing,  I  do  not  advise  you  to  make  any 
preparation  for  it,  as  it  would  be  effort  lost,  at  least  for  the 
present. 

Very  truly  yours, 

W.  B.  Allison. 

The  following  correspondence  with  Hon.  G.  A.  Hobart 
shows  how  thoroughly  convinced  Colonel  Tichenor  was  at 
that  time  regarding  the  importance  of  an  early  and  complete 
revision  of  the  tariff,  that  would  be  so  adjusted  as  to  afford 
proper  protection  to  domestic  producers  and  provide  sufficient 
revenue  for  our  increasing  Government  expenses.  He  first 
took  up  the  subject  with  Mr.  Hobart  in  March,  1896,  as 

8 


34 

shown  by  the  following  correspondence.  (The  allusion  to 
"Iowa  and  New  Jersey  working  together"  was  due  to  his 
hope,  and  that  of  many  others  at  that  time,  that  the  Republi- 
can ticket  would  be  Allison  and  Hobart.) 

March  6,  1896. 
My  dear  Tichenor: — 

Your  interesting  letter  of  March  4th  I  have  just  received. 
The  question  of  what  is  best  to  be  done  in  the  future  for 
honest  importers  and  our  domestic  interests  as  to  the  method 
of  levying  duties  is  so  intricate  and  delicate  a  subject  that  I 
have  no  personal  opinion  to  express  upon  it,  but  I  will  swear 
by  what  you  say  about  it,  and  when  your  plan  of  tariff 
revision  is  promulgated  in  1897  it  will  go  through.  Whether 
it  shall  be  Iowa  and  New  Jersey  working  together  in  the 
high  place  or  not,  it  will  be  Iowa  and  New  Jersey  as  hereto- 
fore working  in  the  lowly  places. 
Always  your  friend, 

Garret  A.  Hobart. 

Aug.  25,  1896. 
My  dear  Mr.  Hobart  : — 

******* 

I  make  the  statement  with  deliberation  and  from  such 
careful  study  as  few  men  indeed  have  given  to  the  subject, 
that  under  our  system  of  high  duties  it  is  utterly  impossible 
to  assess  and  collect  ad  valorem  duties  as  a  rule  at  all  regu- 
larly or  uniformly  without  the  most  severe  inequalities  at 
the  custom-houses  of  the  country,  with  the  resulting  injury 
to  domestic  industries  and  honest  importing  merchants,  as 
well  as  loss  to  the  revenues.  With  fairly  and  carefully  ad- 
justed specific  rates  of  duty  in  place  of  existing  ad  valorem 
wherever  practicable,  together  with  a  judicious  transfer  of 
articles  from  the  free  to  the  dutiable  list,  we  can  secure  all 
needed  protection  and  revenue  without  general  or  material 
actual  advance  in  rates  as  would  even  cause  a  murmur  from 
thin-skinned  Republicans  or  reasonable  low-duty  Democrats. 


35 

This  is  not  a  mere  conjecture  of  mine,  nor  is  it  the  expression 
of  an  economic  doctrinaire,  but  is  the  result  of  the  most 
careful  practical  study  and  observation  of  the  operations  of 
tariffs  for  the  past  fifteen  years,  to  which  I  have  given  prac- 
tically all  my  attention.  Major  McKinley  is  himself  aware, 
as  are  also  ex-President  Harrison,  Senators  Sherman,  Allison, 
Aldrich,  Morrill,  Spooner,  and  others,  that  I  urgently  ad- 
vised against  those  particularly  high  rates  and  features  of  the 
McKinley  tariff  of  1890  which  were  most  criticised  and 
caused  such  a  revulsion  in  the  country.  I  am  quite  as  strongly 
averse  to  such  legislation  now.  I  am  as  certain,  how- 
ever, that  if  the  Republicans  should  secure  the  passage  of  the 
so-called  Dingley  Revenue  Act  at  the  coming  short  session, 
and  should  not  secure  a  complete  revision  of  the  tariff,  or  at 
least  attempt  such  revision  at  an  extra  session  to  be  called  by 
President  McKinley,  or  at  the  furthermost  at  the  regular  ses- 
sion, the  Republican  party  will  be  defeated  at  the  ensuing 
general  election  and  in  1900  as  I  am  that  the  world  exists. 

In  the  first  place,  the  wool-growers  of  the  country  have 
been  promised  and  will  demand  that  a  duty  be  put  upon 
wool,  perhaps  not  as  high  a  rate  as  they  had  formerly,  but  at 
least  a  rate  of  6^  or  8^  a  pound  on  better-class  wool  and  3^  or 
4^  a  pound  on  low-grade  carpet  wools,  and  the  Government 
needs  the  $10,000,000  or  $15,000,000  of  revenue  from  this 
source. 

To  my  mind  our  surest  and  only  means  of  winning  back  to 
the  party  the  Republicans  of  Washington,  Montana,  South 
Dakota,  Utah,  and  even  of  Colorado,  is  by  such  revision  of 
the  tariff  as  will  give  fair  protective  duties  upon  wool,  sheep, 
cattle,  lead,  lumber,  and  others. of  their  products,  and  I  be- 
lieve our  only  sure  way  of  recovering  Nebraska  and  some  of 
those  Western  States  is  by  wise  protective  measures  of  some 
kind  for  their  beet-sugar  interests. 

One  of  the  features  of  the  McKinley  tariff  of  1890  was  the 
transfer  from  the  dutiable  to  the  free  list  of  jute,  manila, 
sisal  grass,  sunn,  istle,  and  other  textile  grasses  and  fibers,  for 


36 

the  express  purpose  of  encouraging  and  fostering  the  manu- 
facture of  burlaps,  bags,  bagging,  canvas,  jute  carpets,  cord- 
age twine,  and  other  articles  made  from  these  substances,  and 
enormous  plants  were  established  for  this  purpose,  all  of 
which  have  gone  to  the  wall  and  most  of  them  are  standing 
idle  since  the  passage  of  the  Wilson-Gorman  Act  making  bur- 
laps, bagging  and  binding  twine  free,  and  with  ruinously 
low  rates  on  the  other  manufactures  of  these  substances. 
Furthermore,  in  our  very  liberal  classification  for  duty  by 
customs  officers,  and  the  courts,  nearly  every  article  under  the 
sun,  whether  fine,  coarse  or  otherwise,  made  of  jute  or  other 
substances,  is  being  admitted  as  burlaps  or  bagging,  while 
every  description  of  twine  and  cordage  comes  in  either  free 
or  at  the  nominal  rate  of  10  per  cent. 

So  it  is  with  the  free  admission  of  braids,  plaits,  laces,  etc., 
which  were  originally  intended  to  be  limited  to  those  made  of 
straw,  chip,  grass,  etc.,  but  under  which  provision  all  manner 
of  braids,  laces,  etc.,  made  partly  and  sometimes  wholly  of 
cotton  and  other  vegetable  fiber  in  imitation  of  straw  are  be- 
ing admitted  free  of  duty. 

The  provision  for  the  free  admission  of  paintings  and 
statuary  has  been  taken  advantage  of  by  the  free  introduction 
of  all  manner  of  things  having  no  artistic  quality  or  merit 
whatever,  and  calculated  rather  to  corrupt  than  encourage 
art  or  culture,  the  revenues  being  thereby  deprived  of  enor- 
mous sums  of  money  and  injury  done  to  our  own  domestic 
mechanics,  artisans  and  artists. 

And  so  on  through  the  whole  gamut  of  the  free  list,  a  rigid 
overhauling  of  which  would  give  us  many  millions  of  dollars 
of  needed  revenue,  and  afford  protection  where  protection  is 
needed. 

I  have  in  mind  a  tariff  scheme  and  amendments  of  admin- 
istrative laws  which  I  believe  would  meet  our  needs,  and 
which  I  think  I  could  prepare  and  bring  to  completion, 
along  with  reasons  in  extenso  for  all  changes  suggested, 
within  three  months  from  this  time  at  furthest,  and  which  I 


37 

will  undertake  in  case  I  should  be  assured  by  yourself  and 
Major  McKinley,  as  well  as  perhaps  Messrs.  Dingley,  Alli- 
son, and  Aldrich,  that  the  same  would  receive  proper  consid- 
eration ;  otherwise  I  would  not  be  inclined  to  enter  upon  the 
task,  it  being  tiresome  work  and  additional  to  my  official 
duties,  which  are  ordinarily  sufficiently  exacting. 
Sincerely  yours, 

Geo.  C.  Tichenor. 

August  31,  1896. 
Dear  Mr.  Tichenor: — 

I  have  received  your  very  full  and  interesting  letter.  I 
have  not  yet  had  time  to  even  digest  it,  but  I  am  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  what  you  say  as  to  the  tentative 
scheme  of  tariff  revision. 

Just  as  soon  as  you  are  able  to  come  to  the  Committee 
Rooms,  do  so,  and  we  will  talk  it  over. 
Always  yours  sincerely, 

Garret  A.  Hob  art. 

Nov.  9,  1896. 
My  dear  Mr.  Hobart  : — 

******* 

In  the  preparation  of  the  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Randall's  Bill, 
introduced  by  him  as  a  substitute  for  the  Mills  Bill,  the 
chief  things  sought  to  be  attained  aside  from  protection  was 
the  getting  rid  of  the  surplus  then  in  the  Treasury  and  pre- 
venting its  accumulation.  I  prepared  the  measure  for  Mr. 
Randall  and  also  most  of  his  report  on  it,  although  differing 
from  him  as  to  the  advisability  of  reducing  the  surplus  or 
providing  against  its  accumulation  in  that  manner,  and 
President-elect  McKinley  is  well  aware  that  the  controlling 
idea  in  the  preparation  of  the  McKinley  Bill  was  to  dispose 
of  and  prevent  the  accumulation  of  surplus  revenue.  It  was 
in  that  view  that  duties  upon  certain  articles  were  made 
prohibitive,  upon  others  higher  than  they  would  otherwise 


38 

have  been,  and  that  numerous  other  articles  (proper  sub- 
jects of  revenue)  were  put  upon  the  free  list.  Therefore,  in 
constructing  a  new  tariff  these  prohibitive  and  excessive  du- 
ties should  not  be  imposed,  and  the  articles  transferred  from 
the  dutiable  to  the  free  list  should  go  back  to  the  dutiable 
list.  In  this  way  we  would  not  only  avoid  reasonable  com- 
plaint of  prohibitive  or  excessive  rates,  but  would  also  secure 
needed  revenue  thereby  and  an  addition  to  the  revenue  from 
articles  transferred  from  the  free  to  the  dutiable  list.  This 
would  include  among  other  things  diamonds  and  other 
precious  stones,  rough  or  uncut;  drugs  of  various  kinds, 
floor  matting  or  Chinese  matting;  various  fruits  and  nuts; 
various  oils ;  potash  and  other  alkalis ;  acids  of  various  kinds ; 
sugar,  and  other  articles.  Add  to  this  wool  and  goat's  hair'; 
bagging  for  cotton;  burlaps,  bags,  etc.;  binding  twine,  mo- 
lasses, turpentine,  lumber,  and  other  things  improperly  on 
the  free  list  of  the  present  act,  and  we  would  have  nearly  if 
not  quite  all  the  revenue  we  needed,  it  being  understood,  of 
course,  that  specific  rates  should  be  substituted  for  ad  valorem 
and  the  full  revenue  imposed  by  the  law  honestly  collected 
and  none  of  it  unlawfully  remitted  or  refunded. 
Sincerely  your  friend, 

George  C.  Tichenor. 

Nov.  18,  1896. 
My  dear  Mr.  Tichenor: — 

I  have  your  valued  letter  of  the  9th  inst.  and  am  very 
much  interested  in  the  facts  you  set  forth  and  the  remedies 
you  propose.  With  your  permission  I  will  send  it  to  Presi- 
dent-elect McKinley  unless  you  will  send  a  similar  letter  to 
him. 

Your  letter  shows  such  a  grasp  of  the  existing  situation 
and  you,  better  than  any  other  man,  understand  the  question 
more  clearly  and  can  more  quickly  and  wisely  adjust  mat- 
ters to  the  needs  of  all  parties  concerned,  including  the 
Government,  that  I  shall  be  glad  to  give  your  carefully  writ- 


39 

ten  and  exhaustive  letter  the  practical  attention  and  direction 
it  deserves. 

With  my  kindest  regards,  I  am, 
Very  sincerely  yours, 

Garret  A.  Hobart. 

Dec.  9,  1896. 
My  dear  Colonel: — 

Your  letter  of  Dec.  7th  received  and  read  with  interest. 
I  hope  your  expressed  determination  will  not  interfere  in 
any  way  with  the  plan  outlined  in  your  former  letters,  which 
I  have  sent  to  Major  McKinley  with  the  request  that  he  com- 
municate with  you  if  your  views  coincide  with  his  own.  He 
certainly  ought  to  appreciate  the  value  of  your  long  ex- 
perience in  tariff  matters  and  special  knowledge  of  that  com- 
plex subject.  I  do,  to  the  fullest  extent. 
Yours  very  truly, 

Garret  A.  Hobart. 

As  Colonel  Tichenor's  idea  on  the  subject  met  with  the 
hearty  approval  of  President-elect  McKinley,  Vice-President 
Hobart,  and  other  Republican  leaders,  and  on  their  assurance 
that  his  general  plan  of  tariff  revision  would  receive  their 
support,  he  went  ahead  formulating  his  schedules  along  the 
lines  proposed,  communicating  later  with  Hon.  Nelson  Ding- 
ley,  Jr.,  upon  the  subject,  as  shown  by  the  following  letters: 

House  op  Representatives, 
Washington,  D.  C,  Dec.  24,  1896. 
My  dear  Sir  : — 

I  was  about  to  write  you  on  the  subject  to  which  your 
letter  refers,  and  to  ask  you  to  do  just  what  you  suggest.  I 
wish  you  would  go  through  with  the  schedules  just  as  you 
have  stated  and  send  them  to  me  before  the  hearings  of  the 
same  if  possible. 

I  wish  you  would  give  particular  attention  to  devising  a 
specific  basis  for  clothing,  wool  and  woolens. 


40 

If  you  could  do  so  I  should  like  to  have  you  come  over 
here  next  week,  or  if  not  then  by  Jan.  12th,  and  sit  down 
privately  with  members  of  the  subcommittee  and  suggest 
and  explain,  and  stay  here  part  of  the  time  at  least  for 
several  weeks. 

I  am  heartily  with  you  in  the  effort  to  make  our  tariff 
specific.     The  iron  and  steel  schedule  and  also  the  cotton 
schedule  is  now  nearly  all  specific. 
Very  truly  yours, 

Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 

Dec.  26,  1896. 
Hon.  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr., 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C, 
My  dear  Sir  : — 

I  hasten  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the 
24th  inst. 

In  accordance  with  your  suggestions,  I  will  send  you  the 
remaining  schedules  (and  free  list)  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
and  they  will  be  accompanied,  as  those  already  sent  you 
were,  with  as  full  explanatory  notes  as  my  time  and  data 
will  permit. 

I  will  do  the  best  I  can  with  the  wool  and  woolens  schedule. 
However,  I  see  what  appear  to  be  insuperable  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  carrying  out  my  ideas  with  respect  to  it.  While 
I  am  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  rights  of  our  western  wool- 
growing  friends,  I  realize  that  most  of  them  are  thoroughly 
unreasonable  in  their  demands.  In  times  past,  as  you  are 
perhaps  aware,  I  gave  a  good  deal  of  thought  to  the  subject 
of  wool,  and  had  the  benefit  of  some  little  experience  abroad 
concerning  it,  with  the  result  that  I  have  imbibed  the  notion 
that  the  duty  on  wool,  "class  1"  and  "class  2,"  especially, 
should  be  compound,  namely,  say  4  or  5  cents  per  pound 
specific  and  an  ad  valorem  feature  to  make  one  average  rate, 
say  7  cents  to  8  cents  per  pound,  and  that  this  rule  should 


41 

apply  to  the  article  when  washed  or  scoured,  as  well  as  in 
the  grease.  The  rate  on  the  wools  of  class  3  might  be  wholly 
specific,  say  3  cents  a  pound,  or  it  might  be  like  that  of 
classes  1  and  2,  compound,  say  l1/^  cents  per  pound  and 
the  remainder  ad  valorem.  As  to  yarns,  I  hope  our  manu- 
facturing friends  will  be  able  to  furnish  a  proper  basis  for 
duties  according  to  spinners'  numbers.  As  to  dress  goods, 
woolen  cloths,  knit  goods,  ready-made  clothing  and  wearing 
apparel  generally,  and  the  small  wares,  I  can  see  no  way  now 
other  than  to  make  the  rates  compound,  to  wit,  per  pound 
and  ad  valorem,  but  we  must  make  them  as  simple  as  possi- 
ble, avoiding  if  we  can  the  system  of  progressive  ad  valorems, 
that  is  to  say  specific  and  ad  valorem  based  on  different 
values.  The  simpler  the  rates  can  be  made  the  better,  for 
these  progressive  rates  really  furnish  more  opportunity  for 
undervaluation  than  straight  ad  valorems,  and  the  Lord 
knows,  the  latter  are  intolerably  bad.  Then  again,  we  must 
avoid  differentiation  as  much  as  possible.  We  have  done 
too  much  of  that  in  the  past,  thereby  affording  opportuni- 
ties for  evasion,  disappointment  to  our  domestic  people,  and 
hurt  to  the  revenue. 

I  shall  be  pleased  to  visit  Washington  and  to  render  your 
committee  all  the  assistance  I  can,  after  I  have  got  through 
with  formulating  and  sending  you  the  schedules,  etc.,  but 
fear  I  shall  be  unable  to  do  that  and  to  finish  some  neces- 
sary official  work  so  as  to  be  there  before  about  the  10th  to 
15th  of  January.  Meantime  if  you  should  find  it  con- 
venient to  ask  Assistant  Secretary  Hamlin  to  authorize  me 
to  visit  Washington  on  public  account,  and  to  have  my 
private  secretary,  Mr.  H.  J.  Webster,  accompany  me,  I  shall 
be  very  glad. 

The  partially  paralyzed  condition  of  my  hands  makes  it 
necessary  for  me  to  have  my  own  private  secretary  with  me 
if  I  am  to  do  any  work. 

Wishing  you  the  compliments  of  the  season,  I  am, 
Very  truly  yours, 

George  C.  Tichenob. 


42 

Dec.  29,  1896. 
Hon.  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr., 

Chairman  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington,  D.  C. 
My  dear  Sir: — 

I  enclose  herewith  proposed  schedule  for  silk  goods,  with 
quite  copious  explanatory  notes  attached.  This  schedule  has 
involved  an  amount  of  labor  that  I  scarcely  apprehended  at 
the  outset ;  consequently  was  unable  to  send  it  along  with  the 
others  in  time  for  the  hearing  today.  I  desire  very  much 
to  subject  the  articles  embraced  in  the  proposed  paragraphs 
413  and  414  to  specific  or  compound  rates,  or  at  least  to  a 
small  specific  rate,  combined  with  ad  valorem,  and  hope  to 
have  the  data  to  enable  me  to  make  a  recommendation  in 
that  direction  by  the  time  I  shall  visit  Washington.  Mean- 
time, however,  I  can  say  that  the  enclosed  schedule  is  a  vast 
improvement  on  anything  that  we  have  had  heretofore,  and 
we  can  get  along  with  it  if  we  cannot  do  better.  I  have  made 
my  explanations  quite  full,  at  the  risk  of  wearying  you  and 
your  brother  Republican  members  of  the  committee. 

I  enclose  also  the  cotton  cloth  paragraphs  from  the  act  of 
1894,  modified  and  changed  in  certain  respects,  to  which 
attention  is  fully  called  in  explanatory  notes  attached.  This 
enclosure  was  omitted  from  my  letter  of  yesterday. 

I  enclose  Schedule  D,  wood  and  wooden  wares,  but  slightly 
modified  in  two  or  three  particulars,  and  not  sufficient  to 
require,  I  think,  any  "explanatory  notes.' ' 

I  had  hoped  to  be  able  to  send  you  the  paper  schedule 
(Schedule  M)  today  also,  but  was  unable  to  get  certain  de- 
sired data  respecting  the  same.  I  shall  try  to  send  it  to  you 
tomorrow,  together  with  the  sugar  schedule,  which  latter  I 
hope  to  make  purely  specific. 

I  will  hurry  forward  the  other  schedules  as  rapidly  as  I 
can,  but  you  must  not  be  impatient  if  they  are  delayed  some 
little  time.    I  want  to  make  them  as  complete  as  possible. 
Sincerely  yours, 

George  C.  Tichenor. 


43 

Jan.  1,  1897. 
Dear  Sir: — 

I  am  in  receipt  of  yours  enclosing  suggestions  as  to  silk, 
cotton,  wood  and  paper  schedules,  for  which  I  thank  you. 

We  shall  not  be  ready  for  you  as  early  as  I  hoped,  as  we 
desire  to  take  time  first  to  look  over  the  hearings. 
Truly  yours, 

Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 

House  op  Representatives, 

Washington,  D.  ft,  Jan.  8,  1897. 
Hon.  George  C.  Tichenor. 

Dear  Sir:  Enclosed  find  the  silk  and  cotton  schedules 
which  you  desired  to  have  returned  for  revision.     Please 
return  as  soon  as  possible. 
Truly  yours, 

N.  Dingley,  Jr. 

Jan.  18,  1897. 
My  dear  Sir: — 

I  am  in  receipt  of  yours  enclosing  jute  schedule  and  ac- 
companying papers,  and  also  your  new  cotton  and  silk 
schedules,  for  which  accept  thanks. 

I  hope  your  suggestions  as  to  specifics  in  jute  schedule  will 
prove  all  right.  The  woolen  schedule  is  the  one  that  needs 
specifics  the  most.  We  want  to  give  about  50  per  cent  pro- 
tection outside  of  compensatory  duty  for  manufacturers  of 
wool.  If  we  could  get  specifics  that  would  not  fall  anywhere 
below  40  per  cent  nor  above  60  per  cent  the  plan  would 
answer. 

I  think  you  had  better  keep  on  working  on  your  schedules 
until  you  complete  them,  and  then  come  over  here.     If  we 
need  you  before  then,  I  will  write  or  telegraph  you. 
Very  truly  yours, 

Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 


44 

Jan.  29,  1897. 
My  dear  Sir  : — 

It  is  understood  that  the  present  Wilson  law  was  satis- 
factory to  iron  and  steel  industries,  with  the  exception  of 
tin  plate,  cotton  ties,  and  some  advanced  manufactures  of 
iron  and  steel,  on  the  basis  of  40^  per  ton  on  iron  ore.  In- 
deed, the  schedule  was  made  by  iron  and  steel  men.  Nearly 
all  the  iron  and  steel  men  we  have  met  have  said  the  present 
schedule  is  satisfactory  with  these  exceptions,  although  a  few 
wanted  pig  iron  increased.  1%$  will  probably  do  all  right 
on  tin  plate. 

Hastily  yours,  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 

Jan.  30,  1897. 
My  dear  Sir: — 

Yours  enclosing  suggestions  as  to  tobacco  schedule  just 
received. 

I  send  you  by  this  mail  the  hearings  on  metal  schedule. 
You  will  notice  by  these  hearings  that  the  manufacturers 
ask  only  1%$  on  tin  plate  and  generally  few  changes.  The 
Eastern  manufacturers  want  iron  ore  kept  at  40$  and  the 
Western  ore  men  want  it  advanced  to  60$.  We  expect  to 
cut  nearly  all  our  duties  considerably  below  those  of  the  act 
of  1890.  The  metal  and  cotton  schedules  of  the  present  law 
(Wilson  Bill)  were  really  made  by  the  manufacturers,  except 
as  to  a  few  items. 

Your  sugar  suggestions  received.  It  is  claimed  that 
German  beet  sugar  cannot  be  properly  tested  by  the  polari- 
scope  exclusively  and  that  it  must  be  treated  differently  from 
cane  sugar.  What  do  you  say  as  to  that?  The  New  York 
importers  claim  that  3/100$  is  the  proper  increase  of  duty 
for  each  degree.  Can  you  send  us  the  foreign  value  of  sugar 
for  each  degree  from  75  degrees  to  96  degrees? 

It  is  perhaps  better  for  you  to  do  your  work  at  present  in 
New  York  until  you  get  through  your  schedules,  and  then 
come  here. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 


45 

Feb.  1,  1897. 
My  dear  Sir  : — 

I  have  been  thinking  over  the  tobacco  trouble  and  possibly 
a  remedy  for  the  existing  evils  might  be  found  in  placing  so- 
called  Sumatra  wrappers  in  one  classification  with  a  high 
duty,  and  Havana  wrappers  in  another  with  a  duty  of  $1  to 
$1.50.  I  understand  the  value  of  Sumatra  wrappers  is  two 
or  three  times  that  of  the  Havana  wrappers.  The  tobacco 
growers  are  insistent  on  the  high  duties  of  the  Act  of  1890 
on  Sumatra  wrappers  but  care  little  for  the  Havana.  How 
would  that  work? 

When  will  you  be  able  to  send  me  your  suggestions  as  to 
the  earthenware  schedule? 
Yours  very  truly, 

Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 

Feb.  5,  1897. 
Dear  Sir: — 

It  will  be  in  time  to  take  up  any  changes  in  the  chemical 
schedule  when  you  come  over.  It  would  be  well  for  you  to 
come  over  if  practicable  by  the  middle  of  next  week,  or  if 
it  is  necessary  for  you  to  remain  at  New  York  longer  to  com- 
plete your  schedules  you  could  do  so.  We  would  like  to  have 
you  here  however  by  Wednesday  if  possible. 
Truly  yours, 

Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 

Feb.  8,  1897. 
Dear  Sir: — 

Yours  saying  you  desire  to  complete  the  schedules  before 
coming  here  is  at  hand. 

If  you  prefer  to  wait  in  New  York  a  week  longer  we  will 
accommodate  ourselves  to  the  situation.  Try  and  be  here 
by  a  week  from  Monday  or  Tuesday. 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  suggestions  as  to  Schedule  B 
(earthenware). 

Yours  truly,  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 


46 

Feb.  10,  1897. 
Dear  Sir: — - 

I  am  in  receipt  of  yours  enclosing  agricultural  schedule 
and  sugar  schedule. 

Will  see  you  at  the  Hotel  Cochran,  in  Washington,  on 
Monday. 

Yours  truly, 

Nelson  Dingley,  Jr. 

The  above  letters  show  that  Colonel  Tichenor  had  by  this 
time  redrafted  every  schedule  of  the  tariff  and  had  forwarded 
them  to  Mr.  Dingley,  together  with  his  "Explanatory  Notes," 
a  preamble  of  which  reads  as  follows : 

Explanatory  Notes. 

"The  following  suggestions  relative  to  the  revision  of  the 
tariff  are  made  with  the  view  of  avoiding  especially  incon- 
sistencies and  incongruities: 

"The  act  of  1890  is  adopted  as  a  framework,  and  the 
explanations  will  only  cover  material  changes  therefrom  in 
phraseology  and  rates  or  the  addition  of  new  articles;  no 
reference  will  be  made  to  slight  changes  in  phraseology  or 
rates.  As  a  general  rule,  the  variations  from  the  act  of  1890 
are  for  the  purpose  of  simplification,  the  conversion  of  ad 
valorem  into  specific  or  compound  rates,  or  the  reduction  of 
rates  due  to  the  decline  in  values  since  1890,  or  for  the  rea- 
son that  they  were  unnecessarily  high  in  that  act.  The  sys- 
tem of  serially  numbering  all  paragraphs  should  be  carefully 
adhered  to,  and  fractional  numbers,  such  as  frequently  ap- 
pear in  the  present  act,  should  be  carefully  avoided. 

"This  system  of  properly  numbering  paragraphs  was  first 
introduced  in  the  Randall,  Allison,  and  McKinley  bills,  and 
has  proved  most  convenient  and  advantageous  in  administra- 
tion. In  previous  acts,  sections  only  were  designated  by 
numbers,  and  the  numbering  of  paragraphs,  as  in  the  act  of 


47 

1883,  was  done  by  the  Treasury  Department,  and  hence 
lacked  legislative  sanction." 

As  this  mass  of  valuable  data  and  information  would  fill 
a  large  volume,  no  attempt  will  be  made  at  this  time  to  re- 
produce it  in  detail. 

Although  badly  broken  in  health,  he  went  to  Washington 
February  12,  1897,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Dingley  and  others, 
and  took  rooms  at  the  Hotel  Cochran,  where  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee  were  in  daily  session  reviewing  and  con- 
sidering the  requests  of  various  interests  affected  by  revision 
of  the  tariff.  Here  he  was  in  constant  conference  with  them, 
and  few  changes  were  made  in  any  of  the  schedules  during 
this  time  without  consulting  him.  He  remained  there  work- 
ing with  them  day  and  night  until  the  bill  was  ready  to  be 
introduced,  March  19,  1897. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  controlling  idea  in  the  pre- 
paration of  the  McKinley  tariff  was  to  dispose  of  the  surplus 
revenue  and  prevent  its  future  accumulation.  It  was  in 
that  view  that  the  duties  on  certain  articles  were  made  pro- 
hibitive. Colonel  Tichenor  was  strongly  opposed  to  such 
tariff  legislation,  believing  it  harmful  to  all  interests  except 
the  few  excessively  protected  manufacturers,  who  were 
thereby  directly  benefited.  Therefore,  in  framing  the  Ding- 
ley  schedules,  while  using  the  McKinley  tariff  as  a  frame- 
work, he  endeavored  particularly,  not  only  to  readjust  and 
equalize  the  rates  of  duty  upon  a  fairer  and  more  equitable 
basis,  but  at  the  same  time  to  provide  more  revenue  by  fix- 
ing the  duties  at  points  well  below  the  prohibitive  rates  of 
the  McKinley  Bill,  but  somewhat  above  those  of  the  Wilson- 
Gorman  Bill,  where  they  were  too  low  for  fair  and  proper 
protection.  As  "The  metal  and  cotton  schedules  of  the 
Wilson  Bill  were  really  made  by  the  manufacturers"  (as 
shown  by  Mr.  Dingley's  letter  of  January  30,  1897),  few 
changes  were  made  in  these  schedules,  and  the  duties  on  most 
items  were  allowed  to  remain  as  in  the  Wilson-Gorman  tariff. 


48 

That  Colonel  Tichenor's  ideas  and  recommendations  met 
with  the  approval  of  Mr.  Dingley  and  other  Republican 
members  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  is  clearly 
shown  by  the  above  correspondence,  and  by  their  adoption 
of  many  of  his  schedules  as  originally  drawn,  as  well  as  his 
general  plan  of  revision.  This  is  further  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  Mr.  Dingley 's  report  to  the  House  of 
Representatives,  accompanying  the  introduction  of  the  bill: 

"Range  of  Duties  Proposed. 

"In  revising  the  several  dutiable  schedules,  as  a  rule  the 
duties  have  been  fixed  at  points  between  the  tariff  of  1890 
and  the  present  tariff  (Wilson  Bill),  it  having  been  found 
that  on  account  of  changed  conditions,  in  a  large  part  of 
the  articles  duties  lower  than  those  of  1890  would  be  equally 
protective. 

"The  metal  and  cotton  schedules  are  in  large  part  the 
same  as  in  the  present  tariff  (Wilson  Bill),  the  increases 
above  those  rates  being  in  the  more  advanced  articles.  The 
agricultural,  earthenware  and  glass,  and  the  silk,  liquor, 
and  wool  and  woolen  schedules  are  substantially  the  same 
as  in  the  tariff  of  1890,  the  duties  on  fruit  having  been  in- 
creased. The  manufactured  lumber,  which  was  put  on  the 
free  list  by  the  tariff  of  1894,  has  been  transferred  to  the 
dutiable  list  as  an  act  of  justice  to  this  large  industry  and 
in  the  interest  of  revenue,  with  little  change  in  duties  except 
on  white  pine,  which  has  been  restored  to  the  duty  of  1883. 

"The  duty  on  wrapper  tobacco  has  been  restored  to  the 
rate  of  1890  and  the  rate  on  filler  tobacco  increased,  partly 
for  purposes  of  revenue  and  partly  to  better  equalize  the 
duties  on  wrappers  and  fillers.  The  general  policy  pursued 
has  been  to  raise  the  duties  on  luxuries. 

"While  the  duties  on  more  than  three-fourths  of  the 
articles  on  the  dutiable  list  are  lower  than  those  provided  in 
the  act  of  1890,  yet  converted  into  the  delusive  terms  of  ad 


49 

valorem  they  will  in  many  cases  appear  to  be  higher,  not- 
withstanding the  actual  rates  are  less. 

"Specific  Duties. 

"The  aim  has  been  to  make  the  duties  specific,  or  at  least 
partly  specific,  wherever  practicable,  not  only  to  protect  the 
revenue  against  undervaluation  frauds,  but  also  to  give  our 
own  industries  the  protection  carried  on  the  face  of  the  tariff, 
and  in  carrying  out  this  policy  we  have  had  the  sympathy 
and  aid  of  reputable  importers.  This  has  been  done  for  the 
most  part  in  the  chemical,  glass,  iron  and  steel,  lumber, 
sugar,  tobacco,  agricultural,  liquor,  cotton,  flax  and  jute, 
woolen,  silk,  paper,  and  sundries  schedules — in  the  silk  for 
the  first  time,  notwithstanding  ex-Secretaries  Fairchild  and 
Manning  most  earnestly  recommended  this  some  years  ago. 

"Transfer  of  Articles  from  Free  List. 

"Several  articles,  like  argols,  opium,  asphaltum,  chicory 
root,  feathers  and  downs,  paintings  and  statuary,  Chinese  floor 
matting,  lemon  juice,  mineral  waters,  hatters'  plush,  straw 
ornaments,  sago  flour,  etc.,  have  been  transferred  from  the 
free  to  the  dutiable  list  for  revenue  purposes,  while  such  arti- 
cles as  wool,  lumber,  burlaps,  bags,  and  salt  have  been  re- 
stored to  the  dutiable  list,  from  which  they  should  never 
have  been  removed. 

"Several  paragraphs  in  the  free  list,  originally  inserted  for 
some  commendable  object  when  the  revenue  was  abundant, 
have  been  productive  of  such  wholesale  abuses — abuses 
which  it  has  been  found  impossible  to  avoid  in  administra- 
tion under  decisions  of  the  Board  of  Appraisers  or  the 
courts — that  on  recommendation  of  customs  officials  they 
have  been  removed  entirely  from  the  free  list  in  order  to 
protect  the  revenue  against  wholesale  evasions. 

"These  comprise  the  paragraphs  admitting  free  of  duty 
books  that  have  been  printed  more  than  twenty  years  and 
i 


50 

books  for  scientific  research — under  which  books  have  been 
printed  with  a  special  date  to  fit  the  law,  and  scientific  books 
have  been  made  to  cover  an  indefinite  range;  books  printed 
in  foreign  languages — of  which  we  publish  an  abundance; 
silk  bolting  cloths,  under  which  a  great  variety  of  silk  goods 
have  successfully  sought  free  admission;  the  paragraph  rela- 
tive to  books  for  libraries,  which  has  proved  to  be  wonder- 
fully elastic;  and  'antiquities,'  under  which  establishments 
have  been  set  up  in  Europe  to  make  furniture,  drapery,  and 
other  luxuries  so  as  to  imitate  old  articles  that  could  be 
successfully  brought  in  free  of  duty.  A  new  provision  has 
been  incorporated  in  reference  to  the  free  admission  of  wear- 
ing apparel  and  personal  effects  of  tourists,  which  it  is 
thought  will  put  a  stop  to  the  serious  abuses  which  have  ex- 
isted, and  at  the  same  time  increase  the  revenue." 

When  the  bill  passed  the  House  he  was  urged  by  Vice- 
President  Hobart  and  Senators  Allison  and  Aldrich  and 
others  to  remain  in  Washington  and  assist  the  Subcommittee 
of  the  Senate  Finance  Committee  in  reviewing  the  bill  and  in 
making  such  amendments  as  they  believed  necessary.  He 
therefore  remained  as  requested,  and  was  in  conference  day 
and  night  with  the  Republican  members  of  the  Finance  Com- 
mittee, in  their  room  at  the  Capitol,  and  at  the  Hotel  Arling- 
ton (where  they  met  at  night) ,  and  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate, 
where  his  advice  would  be  immediately  available. 

Owing  to  the  very  narrow  Republican  majority  in  the 
Senate  at  this  time  (due  to  the  split  in  the  Republican  ranks 
on* the  "Silver  question"  and  the  new  populist  Senators),  it 
at  one  time  looked  as  though  it  might  prove  impossible  to 
pass  any  tariff  bill,  and  in  order  to  do  so  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  further  increase  the  rates  of  duties  on  many  articles, 
particularly  on  sugar,  raw  wool,  woolen  goods,  etc.,  again 
proving  how  difficult  it  has  always  been  to  properly  readjust 
the  woolen  schedule. 

While  the  bill  was  in  conference,  Senator  Allison  and  Mr. 
Dingley  constantly  sought  Colonel  Tichenor's  advice  regard- 


51 

ing  many  disputed  points.  Owing  to  the  exceedingly  diverg- 
ent views  of  certain  interests  regarding  some  of  the  features 
of  the  new  classifications  and  specific  rates  which  had  been 
adopted  for  the  first  time  in  the  silk  schedule,  an  exceedingly 
warm  debate  thereon  took  place  on  July  15  between  Vice- 
President  Hobart  and  Mr.  Dingley,  in  the  Vice-President's 
room  at  the  Capitol,  where  it  was  finally  agreed  to  accept  such 
revised  schedule  as  Colonel  Tichenor  might  prepare,  and 
which  upon  completion  was  adopted  in  conference  the  follow- 
ing day,  July  16th. 

The  day  after  the  enactment  of  the  Dingley  Bill,  Senator 
Allison  wrote  to  Colonel  Tichenor  as  follows: 

Senate  Chamber, 
Washington,  D.  C,  July  25,  1897. 
My  dear  Colonel  Tichenor: — 

I  will  see  that  all  your  letters,  papers  and  recommendations 
are  segregated  and  preserved  in  my  Committee  Room  on  Ap- 
propriations, and  will  at  some  time  return  them  to  you  if  you 
desire. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  expressing  our  deep  obligation  to 
you  for  your  valuable  assistance,  and  I  especially  want  to 
speak  for  myself  in  this  regard. 
Sincerely  yours, 

William  B.  Allison. 

It  clearly  appears  that  the  general  plan  of  tariff  revision 
proposed  by  Colonel  Tichenor  was  adopted,  as  were  also 
many  of  his  new  classifications  of  specific  instead  of  ad  valo- 
rem rates,  and  that  most  of  the  duties  were  fixed  at  points 
between  those  of  the  tariff  of  1890  (McKinley)  and  the  rates 
of  the  Wilson-Gorman  Bill.  In  other  instances,  however,  the 
rates  were  fixed  at  higher  points  than  was  deemed  necessary 
by  those  charged  with  framing  the  Dingley  Bill,  principally 
through  the  demands  from  large  and  influential  interests  and 
also  as  a  result  of  the  compromises  usual  in  maturing  and 
passing  all  tariff  measures. 


52 

Believing  that  most  of  the  McKinley  rates  should  be  re- 
duced, Colonel  Tichenor  invariably  recommended  that  the 
rate  of  60  per  cent  ad  valorem,  wherever  found  in  the  Mc- 
Kinley Bill,  should  be  reduced  to  50  per  cent  in  the  Dingley 
tariff,  as  in  his  opinion  quite  as  much,  if  not  more,  revenues 
would  result  from  such  a  change.  His  recommendation  to 
this  effect  referred  particularly  to  the  duties  upon  laces,  em- 
broideries, trimmings,  jewelry,  etc.  It  was  decided,  however, 
to  re-enact  the  McKinley  60  per  cent  rate  on  most  of  these 
articles,  in  order  to  permit  sufficient  margin  or  leeway  to 
lower  these  rates  in  accordance  with  the  reciprocity  feature  of 
section  4  of  the  Dingley  Bill,  permitting  the  President,  with 
the  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  reduce  the  duties  20  per  cent 
through  reciprocity  treaties.  It  will  be  readily  seen  that  in 
order  to  allow  a  reduction  of  20  per  cent  on  the  rates  upon 
such  articles,  particularly  laces,  embroideries,  trimmings, 
gloves,  etc.,  largely  made  by  the  foreign  nations  with  which 
trade  treaties  were  contemplated,  duties  thereon  had  to  be 
fixed  about  20  per  cent  higher  than  under  ordinary  condi- 
tions. During  a  debate  in  the  Senate  in  1903,  upon  the  pro- 
posed treaty  with  France,  which  the  President  at  that  time 
desired  to  effect  under  section  4  of  the  Dingley  Bill,  the  state- 
ment was  made  by  Senator  J.  P.  Dolliver  (who  as  a  member 
of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  participated  in  the 
framing  of  the  Dingley  Bill)  that  many  of  the  rates  of  duty 
were  made  higher  than  necessary  at  that  time  with  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  lowering  them  through  reciprocity  treaties. 

It  will  also  be  recalled  that  during  the  hearings  before  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  many  domestic  manufacturers 
claimed  they  could  not  successfully  compete  against  impor- 
tations of  such  goods  as  they  manufactured  here  unless  the 
duties  were  fixed  considerably  above  the  points  really  needed 
for  protection,  owing  to  the  "enormous  undervaluation"  of 
the  imported  goods.  In  many  instances  the  rates  were  ac- 
cordingly made  considerably  higher  than  necessary  to  cover 
the  amount  of  undervaluation   claimed.     The   "enormous 


53 

undervaluations, "  of  which  so  much  complaint  is  heard, 
amounted  in  1907,  according  to  Government  estimates,  to 
$174,000  on  total  dutiable  imports  of  $773,448,833— an 
amount  almost  too  small  to  show  the  percentage.  Providing 
half  this  total  dutiable  amount  is  subject  to  specific  duties, 
the  $174,000  "additional  duties  resulting  from  undervalua- 
tions" based  on  imports  of,  say,  one-half  the  total,  or  about 
$386,724,400  subject  to  ad  valorem  duties,  would  have 
amounted  to  the  enormous  figure  of  about  .0004%  per  cent. 

At  the  time  of  Colonel  Tichenor's  first  investigation  of 
undervaluations,  about  three-fourths  of  our  importations 
were  consigned  to  agents  here  of  the  foreign  manufacturers, 
and  as  many  of  the  goods  were  claimed  to  be  "made  espe- 
cially for  the  American  market,"  and  were  not  freely  offered 
for  sale  in  the  foreign  markets,  it  was  very  difficult  for  our 
appraising  officers  to  ascertain  the  foreign  "market  value" 
thereof.  In  his  early  reports,  therefore  (especially  in  that 
of  1882),  Colonel  Tichenor  recommended  the  adoption  of 
the  "home-market  value"  in  the  United  States  as  a  proper 
basis  for  ascertaining  the  dutiable  value  of  such  importations. 

Owing  to  the  great  improvement  in  the  administration  of 
our  customs  laws  (particularly  since  the  enactment  of  the 
Customs  Administrative  Act  of  1890),  and  because  of  far 
better  steamship  service,  and  various  other  reasons,  there  has 
been  a  large  increase  of  imports  of  goods  "actually  pur- 
chased" abroad  and  a  corresponding  decrease  of  importations 
of  "consigned  goods."  In  the  year  1906  only  about  20  per 
cent  of  the  importations  at  the  port  of  New  York  were  of 
"consigned"  goods,  and  many  of  these  were  of  articles  sub- 
ject to  specific  duties  or  free  of  duty,  and  consequently  not 
undervalued.  It  will  be  readily  seen,  therefore,  that  the 
percentage  of  "consigned  goods"  which  might  be  under- 
valued is  at  present  very  small  in  comparison  with  the  large 
importations  of  such  character  in  the  earlier  days,  and  conse- 
quently there  appears  to  be  little  need  at  present  to  make 
our  "home  market  values"  the  basis  for  appraisement. 
Many  European  firms  prefer  for  various  reasons  to  consign 


54 

their  goods  to  their  agents,  bankers,  or  commission  houses, 
and  if  correctly  invoiced  at  the  "market  value"  in  the  coun- 
try of  production,  at  the  prices  paid  for  similar  goods,  it 
would  be  manifestly  unjust  to  appraise  such  consignments 
on  the  basis  of  the  "home  market"  here  and  appraise  similar 
goods  "actually  purchased"  upon  the  basis  of  the  "foreign 
market"  value.  The  adoption  of  two  bases  for  finding  the 
dutiable  value  of  similar  goods  imported  from  the  same 
markets  at  the  same  time,  and  invoiced  at  the  same  prices, 
would  be  manifestly  unfair,  and  entirely  out  of  harmony 
with  the  basic  principle  of  uniform  taxation. 

In  1897  Colonel  Tichenor  recommended  that  section  11 
of  the  Customs  Administrative  Act  be  amended  so  as  to  per- 
mit appraising  officers  to  take  into  consideration  the  "home- 
market  value  in  the  United  States"  as  a  means  of  determin- 
ing the  dutiable  value  of  merchandise  which  was  not  freely 
offered  for  sale  in  the  country  of  origin,  and  when  the  for- 
eign market  value  was  not  ascertainable.  This  recommenda- 
tion was  adopted  and  incorporated  into  the  Dinglcy  "Bill. 
It  will  be  seen  that  this  method  of  appraising  imported  mer- 
chandise is  permissive  instead  of  mandatory,  and  operates 
fairly  and  equally  to  all,  whether  such  goods  are  "con- 
signed" or  "purchased." 

While  in  his  earlier  work  he  found  what  he  termed  "a 
regular  carnival  of  fraud"  existing  in  the  way  of  under- 
valuations of  imported  articles  of  every  description,  he  be- 
lieved in  his  last  years  that  such  frauds  upon  the  revenue 
had  been  reduced  very  materially,  if  not  to  a  minimum, 
through  the  adoption  of  many  of  his  recommendations,  in- 
cluding the  substitution  of  specific  duties  in  place  of  ad 
valorem  in  many  of  the  tariff  classifications ;  by  improve- 
ment in  the  personnel  of  the  appraiser's  department  under 
better  civil-service  regulations,  and  because  of  the  clearer  and 
better  customs  administrative  laws,  for  the  enactment  of 
which  he  had  continuously  worked  and  for  the  enforcement 
of  which  he  had  conscientiously  labored  as  Assistant  Secre- 


55 

tary  of  the  Treasury  and  President  of  the  Board  of  General 
Appraisers. 

As  further  proof  of  the  great  falling  off  of  undervalua- 
tions generally  in  later  years,  it  is  proper  to  herewith  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that  Colonel  Tichenor,  in  a  report  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  1886  (reproduced  in  the 
Secretary's  Annual  Report  to  Congress  of  that  year) ,  showed 
that  the  /'additions  to  invoice  values"  at  the  port  of  New 
York  alone  for  1885  amounted  to  $2,121,617,  and  for  1886 
to  $3,352,037,  whereas,  according  to  the  statement  of  "Im- 
ports and  Duties,"  lately  compiled  for  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  "additional 
duties  on  articles  undervalued"  in  the  year  1898  (the  year 
following  the  enactment  of  the  Dingley  Bill)  amounted  to 
but  $174,362  on  total  dutiable  importations  of  $295,619,695; 
and  in  1907  to  only  $173,975  on  total  dutiable  importations 
of  $773,448,833,  thus  indicating  a  constant  decline  in  under- 
valuations. 

Reviewing  Colonel  Tichenor's  career  and  work  generally 
as  outlined  herein,  it  will  be  seen  that  although  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics  and  a  firm  believer  in  the  theory  of  pro- 
tection, he  never  belonged  to  the  extreme  or  ultra-pro- 
tectionist school.  It  will  be  recalled  that  he  expressed  his 
views  upon  the  subject  in  his  report  of  1882  as  follows: 

"I  am  an  ardent  believer  in  the  theory  of  protection ;  but 
protection  ceases  to  be  protection  when  carried  to  the  extent 
of  pampering  an  industry  into  slothfulness  and  beyond  the 
whip  and  spur  of  competition." 

His  consistent  adherence  to  this  belief  is  abundantly 
shown  by  his  letters  and  recommendations  upon  the  sub- 
ject, and  by  analyses  of  the  schedules  framed  by  him  for 
Randall,  Allison,  and  Dingley,  and  further  from  the  fact 
that,  notwithstanding  his  admiration  and  friendship  for 
Major  McKinley,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  advise  against  and 
most  urgently  oppose  the  extremely  high  protective  or  pro- 
hibitive duties  adopted  in  the  tariff  of  1890.     In  his  opin- 


56 

ion,  Senators  Allison  and  Aldrich  and  Congressman  Ding- 
ley  were  by  far  the  best  informed  of  any  of  our  leaders  in 
Congress  upon  the  tariff  question.  Mr.  Dingley  had  given 
the  subject  most  careful  study  for  many  years,  and  Senators 
Allison  and  Aldrich,  from  their  wide  experience  in  the  re- 
visions of  the  customs  laws  and  later  tariffs,  acquired  great 
practical  knowledge  of  these  subjects. 

Eegarded  by  many  as  the  greatest  authority  in  the  coun- 
try upon  tariff  and  customs  matters,  it  will  be  seen  that 
Colonel  Tichenor's  advice  and  assistance  was  sought  by  the 
leaders  of  both  political  parties  upon  these  questions,  for 
from  long  study  of  the  tariffs  of  this  and  other  nations,  and 
wide  and  practical  experience  in  administering  tariff  and 
customs  laws,  he  had  reached  a  point  where  he  could  view 
the  subject  without  any  political  bias.  It  was  conceded  by 
all  who  knew  him  that  his  recommendations  were  based 
solely  upon  what  he  deemed  best  for  the  welfare  of  the 
entire  country. 

All  who  came  into  contact  with  Colonel  Tichenor  recog- 
nized him  as  a  man  of  peculiarly  powerful  personality  and 
strong  individuality.  An  indomitable  will  and  energy  (not- 
withstanding his  incurable  illness)  gave  him  in  full  measure 
the  courage  of  his  convictions  and  made  him  ever  ready  to 
fight  for  what  he  believed  was  right.  With  these  convic- 
tions and  an  experience  greater  than  that  of  any  other  one 
man  of  his  time  in  framing  and  enforcing  our  tariff  and 
customs  laws,  he  often  became  disgusted  with  the  selfish  and 
unreasonable  demands  from  various  interests,  particularly 
with  those  pirates  in  politics,  who,  owing  to  political  in- 
fluence, and  belief  in  the  old  rule  of  "to  the  victor  belong 
the  spoils,"  demanded  that  utterly  unwarranted  and  pro- 
hibitive duties  be  applied  to  imported  articles  entering  into 
competition  with  those  goods  they  were  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing. Such  demands  he  never  hesitated  to  oppose,  re- 
gardless of  the  political  power  behind  them.    It  is  therefore 


57 

hardly  necessary  to  state  that  he  made  many  enemies,  but 
his  many  friends  and  warm  admirers  who  feel  and  mourn 
his  loss  happily  far  outnumber  all  such  foes. 

Tariff  Commission. 

As  Colonel  Tichenor  was  for  so  many  years  practically  the 
only  expert  upon  whom  the  leaders  in  Congress  relied  for 
information  and  assistance  in  the  drafting  of  these  various 
tariff  bills,  he  became  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  impor- 
tance of  creating  a  Tariff  Commission  or  Board  of  Customs 
and  Tariff  Experts,  to  investigate  costs  of  production,  wageSj 
etc.,  abroad  and  at  home,  and  to  obtain  such  other  informa- 
tion as  might  prove  necessary  for  the  more  scientific  read- 
justment of  our  tariff  schedules  in  the  future. 

In  1888  it  will  be  seen  that  Senator  Allison  and  the  othei 
Republicans  of  the  Senate  Finance  Committee  agreed  with 
him  in  this  respect,  and  provision  was  accordingly  made  in 
sections  55,  56,  57,  58,  and  59  of  the  Allison  Bill  of  October 
3,  1888,  for  the  appointment  of  such  a  Tariff  Commission. 

In  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of 
1889,  as  previously  shown,  he  suggested  that  "reports  at 
stated  periods,  and  by  expert  officers  specially  designated  for 
that  purpose,  upon  the  operation  of  the  tariff  laws  and  indi- 
cating needed  changes,  would  prove  valuable.'' 

From  his  further  experience  and  study  of  the  tariff,  and 
as  President  of  the  Board  of  General  Appraisers,  he  came  to 
the  belief  that  the  members  of  the  Board  of  General  Ap- 
praisers, owing  to  the  nature  of  their  work  of  interpreting 
the  tariff  laws  and  investigating  or  reappraising  values  of 
imported  merchandise,  etc.,  were  particularly  well  fitted  to 
act  as  tariff  experts  in  obtaining  necessary  data,  etc.,  and 
with  this  idea  in  mind,  and  while  working  on  the  Dingley 
Bill  in  Washington  in  1897,  he  prepared  for  Senator 
Spooner  certain  sections  to  be  introduced  in  the  Senate  in- 
corporating his  ideas  of  creating  a  tariff  commission  of  ex- 
pert customs  officials,  and  providing  that  the  Secretary  of 


58 

the  Treasury  should  designate  three  members  of  the  Board 
of  General  Appraisers  to  act  in  such  capacity,  etc.  These 
new  sections  providing  for  such  a  commission  of  experts 
were  accordingly  introduced  in  the  Senate  July  5,  1897,  by 
Senator  Spooner,  and  would  probably  have  been  adopted 
had  it  not  been  for  the  opposition  of  several  Democratic 
Senators  who  wished  to  be  heard  on  the  subject,  and  as  all 
concerned  were  anxious  that  nothing  should  be  added  to  the 
bill  at  that  late  day  which  would  delay  its  passage  in  the 
Senate,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  withdraw  the  amend- 
ment, which  was  done. 

In  introducing  this  amendment,  Senator  Spooner  ex- 
pressed his  own  and  also  Colonel  Tichenor's  views  upon  the 
subject  as  follows: 

"We  cannot  leave  it  to  any  other  body  than  Congress  to 
prepare  and  enact  tariff  laws.  It  is  a  delicate  and  a  difficult 
duty.  We  can,  however,  and  should  secure  all  possible  infor- 
mation which  could  aid  in  wise  legislation.  The  people,  I 
think,  are  tired  and  have  a  right  to  be  tired  of  frequent 
general  revisions  of  the  tariff.  It  will  be  a  happy  thing,  I 
think,  if  the  day  will  come  when  there  shall  be,  based  upon 
intelligent  information,  a  gradual  revision  of  the  tariff,  tak- 
ing up  here  a  schedule  and  there  a  schedule,  producing  some 
uncertainty,  of  course,  as  to  the  particular  business  covered 
by  that  schedule,  but  saving  the  whole  business  of  the  coun- 
try from  that  uncertainty  which  amounts  almost  to  paralysis, 
occasioned  by  the  too  frequent  revisions  of  all  the  schedules 
of  the  tariff  law." 

Speaking  further,  Mr.  Spooner  said: 

"How  many  are  there  in  the  Senate  so  fully  advised  of  the 
details,  with  accurate  information,  essential  to  proper  judg- 
ment, that  they  can  intelligently  debate  the  various  items 
of  this  Dingley  Bill.  I  have  read  with  the  utmost  care  the 
hearings  before  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.     These  hearings  are  utterly  un- 


59 

satisfactory.  There  is  no  careful  cross-examination,  but  the 
statements  are  mainly  the  statements  of  interested  parties. 
.  .  .  I  have  felt  that  while  Congress  is  not  in  session  it 
would  be  a  benefit  if  we  could  have  a  careful  investigation 
of  separate  schedules  by  officials  of  the  Government,  men  of 
experience  belonging  to  each  political  party  not  permitted 
to  engage  in  any  other  business,  to  go  through  this  great 
bill,  or  law  as  it  will  be  if  it  shall  be  passed,  to  analyze  it, 
to  point  out  the  inconsistencies  and  defects  in  it,  and  to  re- 
port to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  the  result  of  their  in- 
vestigation." 

Honorable  James  S.  Clarkson,  for  many  years  a  promi- 
nent leader  in  the  Republican  party  and  at  present  United 
States  Surveyor  of  Customs  at  the  Port  of  New  York,  in  an 
article  on  "The  Life  Work  of  Colonel  Tichenor,"  published 
in  "The  Register  and  Leader"  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  August 
3,  1902,  soon  after  Colonel  Tichenor's  death,  wrote  in  part 
as  follows: 

"As  Tichenor,  in  his  intellectual  stimulus  and  evolution, 
was  largely  an  Iowa  product,  it  is  fitting  that  an  Iowa  paper 
should  recall  the  great  leaders  of  the  Republican  or  Protec- 
tion party  to  a  remembrance  of  the  great  debt  that  they,  the 
party,  and  more  than  all  the  country  itself,  owe  to  him  for 
the  unequaled  service  that  he,  with  his  great  brain  and 
equally  great  patriotism  and  honesty,  so  quietly  and  yet  so 
completely  rendered  to  the  American  people;  for  it  was 
Tichenor  who  gave,  not  only  the  long  reach  and  the  wide 
grasp  of  commercial  wisdom  and  patriotic  intention  that 
made  the  McKinley  and  the  Dingley  bills  prove  so  great  a 
boon  as  to  put  the  United  States  at  the  front  in  the  whole 
wide  business  world,  but  Tichenor  also  who  matured  this 
great  practical  wisdom  into  its  vast  detail,  of  schedule  and 
classification  in  enactment  into  law,  and  of  system  and  cer- 
tainty in  the  collection  of  the  vast  revenues  that  have  come 
in  such  flowing  tides  from  the  operations  of  the  acts  both  to 
the  Government  and  the  people. 


60 

"This  may  seem  a  broad  assertion  to  the  great  mass  of 
the  people,  who  never  know  in  the  first  instance  much  of 
the  actual  facts  of  the  inside  of  great  legislation;  but  to 
all  those  who  are  currently  informed  it  is  not  only  the 
truth,  but  a  truth  fully  capable  of  being  proved;  for  to 
all  those  who  have  been  near  to  Congress  for  fifteen  years, 
and  especially  to  those  who  have  been  close  to  the  com- 
mittees of  Congress  that  framed  the  famous  tariff  bills  of 
the  generation  just  now  closing  its  stewardship,  Colonel 
Tichenor  is  known  to  have  been  not  only  the  main  coun- 
selor and  guide  of  these  congressional  committees  and  the 
main  architect  of  the  great  tariff  acts,  both  in  matter  and 
in  spirit,  as  finally  enacted  by  Congress,  but  also  equally  the 
main  counselor  of  the  President,  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  of  the  whole  vast  customs  service  under  them 
in  the  successful  enforcement  of  the  acts  and  in  the  faithful 
collection  of  the  billions  of  dollars  of  revenue  collected  under 
their  provisions. 

"In  1886-88  the  Republican  leaders,  under  the  inspiration 
of  the  great  spirit  of  Blaine,  who,  although  then  out  of  office, 
had  so  intrepidly  called  the  people  forward  to  overthrow  the 
free-trade  administration  of  President  Cleveland,  and  under 
the  necessity  of  the  Republican  party  to  prepare  a  tariff  bill 
on  which  to  carry  the  country  in  1888,  were  all  actively  en- 
gaged in  trying  to  devise  the  legislation  that  would  satisfy 
the  country  and  bring  the  Republican  party  back  to  power. 
In  1887-88  Colonel  Tichenor  prepared  for  Senator  Allison 
and  the  Senate  Finance  Committee,  under  Allison's  sugges- 
tions, what  was  first  known  as  the  Allison  Tariff  (and  finally 
as  the  McKinley  Bill) ,  as  the  Senate  substitute  for  the  Mills 
Bill.  Thus  the  Allison  Bill  and  the  Mills  Bill  were  offi- 
cially placed  in  Tichenor's  hands  for  final  examination  as 
to  the  actual  merits  of  each  before  a  bill  was  finally  sub- 
mitted to  Congress.  The  Allison  Bill,  as  Allison  in  some 
degree  and  Tichenor  in  a  larger  degree  first  drew  it,  as  modi- 
fied by  Tichenor  after  he  had  compared  it  with  the  Mills 


61 

Bill,  was  finally  agreed  upon  as  the  bill  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  finally  became  known  in  1890  as  the  McKinley 
Bill,  taking  his  name  instead  of  Allison's  from  the  fact  of 
McKinley  then  being  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  for  the  House,  or  the  committee  charged  with 
preparing  and  maturing  such  a  measure  and  with  presenting 
and  defending  it  in  the  House.  A  comparison  of  that  tariff 
bill,  as  finally  presented  in  the  House  by  the  McKinley  or 
Ways  and  Means  Committee,  with  the  original  Allison  Bill, 
as  drawn  and  matured  by  Allison  and  Tichenor,  and  in  fact 
as  to  detail  mainly  by  Tichenor,  and  with  the  McKinley  Bill 
as  enacted  into  law,  will  show  to  any  one  who  cares  to  exam- 
ine into  it  that  the  two  bills  vary  but  slightly,  and  only  in 
the  fact  that  the  Allison  or  original  measure  was  more  con- 
servative in  the  rates  of  duty.  Thus  in  fact  Tichenor  pre- 
pared in  1887-88  the  bill  that  was  passed  in  1890  as  the  Mc- 
Kinley Bill  and  that  made  Major  McKinley  President. 
Tichenor,  knowing  that  whoever  got  the  credit  for  the  pro- 
tection act  that  the  Republican  Congress  was  sure  to  pass, 
had  coveted  the  credit  for  his  long-time  personal  friend, 
Senator  Allison,  and  therefore  drew  the  bill  as  a  labor  of  love 
in  the  hope  and  belief  that  it  would  make  Allison  President. 
"The  meed  of  McKinley,  the  praise  of  Dingley,  the  hom- 
age to  Wilson,  will  in  a  few  years  have  all  faded  away  with 
the  great  following  that  they  had;  and  the  candid  histo- 
rian, seeking  for  the  truth  and  finding  it,  will  give  to  the 
name  of  Tichenor  its  proper  place  as  the  author  of  the  great 
public  acts  that  gave  to  the  United  States  from  1890  to  1900 
such  a  splendor  of  prosperity  and  such  a  world-wide  power 
based  on  superiority  of  statecraft  and  commercial  thrift,  as 
the  people  of  no  other  nation  have  ever  known.  He  had  the 
greatness  of  mind  to  create  legislation  of  the  widest  and  most 
practical  statesmanship,  and  the  greatness  in  genius  of  or- 
ganization to  enforce  such  legislation  to  the  benefit  of  his 
Government  and  the  enrichment  of  its  people. 


62 

"In  a  very  carnival  of  wealth  and  a  fairy -like  creation 
of  great  fortunes,  that  sprung  into  sudden  being  in  every 
State  and  in  nearly  every  neighborhood,  with  thousands  of 
men  passing  one  day  in  poverty  and  obscurity,  and  cele- 
brating the  next  as  millionaires  and  as  great  figures  in 
political  or  commercial  life,  this  man  whose  genius  largely 
gave  to  all  these  their  fortune,  and  to  American  labor  con- 
stant employment  and  comfortable  incomes,  himself  neither 
shared  in  nor  desired  any  of  it  at  all.  His  family  are  con- 
tent as  it  is,  and  prouder  of  him  for  it  being  so,  while  the 
great  mass  of  the  American  people,  as  they  shall  come  to 
know  that  this  great  work  was  his  own  and  not  of  the  other 
men  who  were  given  fame  and  power  by  simply  having  their 
names  attached  to  the  acts  that  he  created,  will  in  the  end 
give  to  him  and  his  name  that  sufficient  honor  and  praise 
for  which  alone  he  sought.  The  high  example  that  he  set 
in  the  public  service  will  long  remain  to  excite  and  inspire 
the  public  servants  of  the  future  to  great  deeds  from  honest 
motives  and  to  great  lives  from  honest  purpose,  and  the  Re- 
public will  bear  in  its  destiny  much  of  good  for  its  future 
from  the  great  and  noble  and  modest  and  unselfish  work  of 
George  Tichenor." 

The  following  letters  show  the  esteem  in  which  Colonel 
Tichenor  was  held  by  some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  nation 
who  knew  him  best  and  with  whom  his  relations  had  been 
very  close  and  friendly  for  many  years: 

Washington,  D.  C,  July  20,  1890. 
My  dear  Mr.  Tichenor: — 

In  transmitting  the  formal  acceptance  of  your  resignation 
of  the  office  of  Assistant  Secretary,  which  you  have  so  ably 
and  worthily  filled,  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  I  consent  to 
your  retirement  with  great  reluctance.  Nothing  could  in- 
duce me  to  sever  the  extremely  pleasant  official  relations  ex- 
isting between  us  but  the  fact  that  you  are  about  to  enter 


63 

upon  duties  equally  important  and  I  trust  more  profitable 
and  agreeable  than  those  you  have  resigned. 

Permit  me  in  all  sincerity  to  say  that  I  cannot  adequately 
express  my  appreciation  of  the  ability  and  zeal  with  which 
you  have  invariably  discharged  every  duty,  nor  my  admira- 
tion for  the  heroic  loyalty  which  has  sustained  you  in  your 
difficult  and  perplexing  labors,  performed  under  physical 
conditions  which  would  have  compelled  surrender  by  almost 
any  other  man. 

Your  personal  and  official  devotion  have  greatly  lightened 
my  own  labors  and  placed  me  under  lasting  obligation,  and 
your  zeal  and  efficiency  have  contributed  very  largely  to 
whatever  measure  of  success  may  be  ascribed  to  the  present 
administration  of  this  department. 

I  am  sure  the  country  will  have  cause  for  gratitude  to  the 
President  for  your  promotion,  and  I  trust  you  may  find  your 
new  duties  as  agreeable  to  yourself  as  your  past  labors  have 
been  profitable  to  the  Government. 

Hoping  that  prosperity  and  happiness  may  attend  you 
through  life,  I  remain,  as  ever, 
Sincerely  your  friend, 

William  Windom. 

This  letter  was  written  soon  after  Colonel  Tichenor's 
resignation  as  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on  pro- 
motion to  General  Appraisership. 

Williamstown,  Mass.,  Sept.  28,  1890. 
My  dear  Mr.  Tichenor: — 

I  am  pained  to  learn  through  letters  from  Mr.  Hendley 
that  you  are  still  suffering  from  the  attacks  of  your  old 
enemy.  My  hope  was  that  when  you  laid  aside  the  burdens 
of  Treasury  work  you  would  rapidly  improve  in  health.  I 
do  not  wish  you  to  write  me  when  the  effort  to  do  so  will 
cause  you  one  additional  pain,  but  if  Mrs.  Tichenor  or  your 
son  will  keep  me  advised  of  your  condition  I  shall  be  greatly 


64 

obliged.  I  need  not  assure  you,  my  dear  friend,  that  no  one 
outside  of  your  own  family  feels  a  keener  interest  in  you 
than  I  do.  Our  association  in  the  department  was  much 
closer  than  usual  official  relations,  and  I  shall  always  think 
of  you  more  as  a  brother  than  as  merely  a  friend.  I  beg  to 
extend  to  you  my  warmest  sympathy  in  your  heroic  struggle 
with  disease,  and  earnestly  hope  for  your  early  and  complete 
recovery. 

I  have  been  absent  from  Washington  about  three  weeks, 
but  the  financial  troubles  and  the  incessant  rains  have 
cheated  me  out  of  much  of  the  benefit  I  anticipated  from  my 
outing.  I  am  now  feeling  pretty  well  and  shall  return  to 
my  work  next  Tuesday  or  Wednesday. 

My  report  will  be  a  much  lighter  task  this  fall  than  it  was 
last  year.  The  tariff  and  silver  questions  having  been  dis- 
posed of  for  the  present,  my  duties  will  be  mainly  formal. 

With  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Tichenor  and  with  best  wishes 
for  yourself,  I  remain, 

Your  devoted  friend, 

William  Windom. 

U.  S.  Senate, 
Washington,  D.  C,  Dec.  22,  1900. 
My  dear  Colonel  Tichenor: — 

Your  letter  would  not  have  remained  so  long  unanswered 
but  I  have  been  away,  owing  to  the  illness  of  my  motherland 
have  been  very  little  in  Washington. 

I  appreciate  the  cordial  and  friendly  expressions  your 
letter  contains,  and  I  heartily  reciprocate  them.  Ever  since 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  you  well,  during  those  hear- 
ings on  the  Dingley  Bill,  I  have  looked  upon  you  as  the 
ablest  and  most  efficient  officer  which  this  Government  had, 
and  I  have  ever  since  cherished  for  you  a  warm  friendship. 

Some  of  these  days  when  I  come  over  to  New  York,  I 
mean  to  hunt  you  up  and  have  a  good  talk  with  you.     I  trust 


65 

you  are  not  suffering  as  you  used  to  and  that  life  is  more 
pleasure  than  pain  to  you. 

With  sincere  regards  and  best  wishes  and  thanking  you 
again  for  your  letter,  I  am, 
Yours  sincerely, 

E.  0.  Wolcott. 

Senator  Wolcott  was  one  of  the  Republican  members  of 
the  Senate  Finance  Subcommittee  at  the  time  of  the  Dingley 
tariff  legislation. 

U.  S.  Senate, 
Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  8,  1901. 
Dear  Colonel: — 

I  have  your  favor  of  10th  ult.,  which  came  at  a  time  when 
it  was  impossible  for  me  to  catch  up  with  my  mail.  I  have 
often  thought  about  you  and  often  asked  about  you.  It  was 
a  great  compliment  which  was  paid  to  you  by  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  Boston,  and  I  know  that  the  compliment  was 
well  deserved.  The  fact  is,  I  think  everything  you  think  and 
everything  you  say  deserves  to  be  given  to  the  world.  I 
have  the  highest  possible  opinion  of  your  ability,  as  I  have 
of  the  loyalty  of  your  friendship. 

I  hope  that  within  the  next  two  weeks  I  can  have  an  hour 
or  so  with  you  in  New  York.  I  trust  the  New  Year  will  be 
in  every  way  a  good  year  to  you  and  yours. 

With  best  wishes,  always  your  friend, 

John  C.  Spooner. 

The  compliment  mentioned  in  the  above  letter  was  the 
publication  by  the  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  a  report 
upon  the  administration  of  the  customs  laws  of  the  United 
States,  prepared  by  Colonel  Tichenor  at  the  request  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  use  at  the  American  Embassy 
at  Berlin. 


5 


United  States  Senate,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Dubuque,  Iowa,  July  23,  1902. 
Mr.  Henry  Dodge  Tichenor, 

Orange,  N.  J. 
My  dear  Mr.  Tichenor: — 

I  have  read  with  deep  regret  and  sorrow  of  the  death  of 
your  father.  I  feel  that  one  of  my  oldest  and  most-valued 
friends  has  passed  away.  He  was  a  most  valued  friend  in 
the  early  part  of  my  career,  and  rendered  me  great  personal 
service  with  an  unselfishness  that  has  characterized  his  whole 
life.  I  know  of  no  man  in  the  public  service  who  has  really 
been  of  more  value  to  his  country  than  has  your  father. 
Having  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  affairs  relating  to  our 
finances  and  great  ability  to  analyze  questions  of  great  im- 
portance presented  to  him  for  solution,  he  rendered  this 
great  service  with  absolute  uprightness  of  character. 

Please  make  my  affectionate  regards  to  your  mother  and 
every  member  of  your  family. 
Very  truly  yours, 

W.  B.  Allison. 

1  Broadway,  New  York,  August  7,  1902. 
Henry  Dodge  Tichenor,  Esq., 

125  Walnut  Street,  East  Orange,  N.  J. 
My  dear  Sir: — 

On  my  return  to  the  city  I  saw  the  accounts  of  the  death 
of  your  father,  and  extend  my  deepest  sympathy  to  you  and 
the  entire  family  in  your  great  loss.  He  is  not  only  a 
loss  to  the  family,  but  to  the  country,  for  since  he  has  been 
in  civil  life  his  services  have  been  of  unaccountable  value  to 
the  country,  especially  in  the  line  of  business  he  has  followed 
of  late  years.  His  great  experience  made  him  very  valuable 
to  all  who  have  drafted  tariff  bills,  and  I  have  heard  them 
all  say  that  his  great  knowledge  was  of  incalculable  benefit. 


67 

But  I  desire  to  write  more  fully  of  his  personal  services  with 
me  during  the  war.  For  over  three  years  he  was  upon  my 
staff,  and  was  confidential  aide.  No  one  ever  served  more 
faithfully  than  your  father  did  me.  It  is  impossible  to 
speak  of  such  services  fully  or  in  detail.  It  requires  one  who 
has  received  such  services  to  fully  appreciate  them,  and  I 
want  to  assure  you,  and  I  think  your  father  knew,  that  I  ap- 
preciated most  fully  his  faithful  and  valuable  service  to  me. 
He  has  been  a  great  sufferer,  and  has  had  the  sympathy  of 
every  one  who  knew  him  personally.  It  has  always  been  a 
great  regret  to  me  that  I  could  not  see  more  of  him  in  civil 
life,  as  my  connection  with  him  in  the  war  had  made  me 
very  fond  of  him. 

Please  extend  to  the  family  my  heart-felt  sympathy,  and 
say  to  them  that  nobody  except  members  of  the  family  re- 
grets his  loss  more  fully  than  myself.     I  am  sorry  I  was  not 
here  at  the  time  so  I  could  attend  his  funeral. 
Truly  and  cordially, 

Grenville  M.  Dodge. 


^    Of   THE 

UNIVERSITY 


68 


In  thus  publishing  the  views  and  work  of  Colonel  Tichenor 
on  the  tariff  and  customs  administration,  it  has  not  been  my 
purpose  to  criticize  or  in  any  way  detract  from  the  reputa- 
tion or  work  of  any  of  the  great  tariff  leaders  of  Congress 
whom  he  assisted  in  framing  various  tariff  bills.  They  all 
had  their  own  ideas  and  theories  regarding  the  tariff  ques- 
tion generally,  to  which  some  of  them  had  given  considerable 
study.  It  is  well  understood,  however,  that  they  did  not 
possess  the  great  general  experience  and  expert  knowledge  of 
Colonel  Tichenor,  which  were  necessary  to  properly  analyze 
the  numerous  demands  and  suggestions  regarding  proposed 
changes  in  the  tariff  schedules;  neither  did  they  have  the 
practical  or  expert  knowledge,  possessed  by  him  in  so  great  a 
degree,  regarding  the  many  details  needing  most  careful  at- 
tention to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  inconsistencies  and  incon- 
gruities and  confusing  and  conflicting  classifications,  which 
are  bound  to  occur  in  all  tariffs,  unless  more  time  and  expert 
advice  is  given  in  readjustments  of  the  tariff  schedules. 


[1009] 


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